IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


ip  my 

■-'  m 


i 


40 


IIIM 

20 

1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

^ 6"     — 

► 

w    % 

.->'' 


//a 


'm 


'/ 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER, NY.  1 45X0 

(716)  872-4503 


/J, 


<i,\ 


/  I 


.♦^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographicaily  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


0 
D 
□ 

□ 
□ 
□ 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couieur 


Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommag6e 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  peilicuide 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g^ographiques  en  couieur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couieur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couieur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


r~^    Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 


D 


along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 

distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte. 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6X6  fiimdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  iui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couieur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pelliculdes 

Pages  discoloured,  stainad  or  foxe( 
Pages  dicoior^es,  tachetdes  ou  piqudes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I  I  Pages  damaged/ 

I  ~L  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

I  I  Pages  discoloured,  stainad  or  foxed/ 

I  I  Pages  detached/ 

I  I  Showthrough/ 

I  I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I  I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I  I  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6x6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fagon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


V^ 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Nationai  Library  of  Canada 


L'exempiaire  film6  fut  reproduit  grdce  d  la 
gin^rosit^  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iteeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6x6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exempiaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  bacl(  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  examplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "I,  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  6  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1  2  3 

4  5  6 


m- 


& 


^ 


K^* 


(4 


>■—     H    *»» 


s-g* 


S. 


^^'^•■IW^v 


'•    Thos.  Swan  "^  Co., 

CATERERS, 

-  AND  - 

Restaurateurs,  Etc. 

THE  LEADING  LUNCH  AND 
SAMPLE  ROOMS  OF  THE  CITY. 


Cor.  of  Woodward  &  Lamed  Sts.,  DETROIT,  MICH. 

Griswold  House, 

Cor.  Griswold  and  Congress  Sis., 

DETROIT,  MICH. 

The  Most  Centrally  Situated  Business  Man's  and 
Family  Hotel  in  the  City. 


UNEXCEPTIONAL  CUISINE. 


ALBERT  MAXWELL,  Proprietor. 


^>^^< 


■sy 


D 


ON'T  FAIL 
TO  VISIT 


JI;3C^asi90 


ON   BELLE   ISLE. 


.-.  ^DETROIT'S  BEAUTIFUL  ISUND  PARK.^.'. 


^ 


r^-BoTTLCD   L*OtR.   Ice  CrCAM   AND  J       FAI    VEY      ^^^^^F. A^Poro 

at^^    Other  SuMMtB  RcrncsHMENTS.  J.   rMUVQT,  MANAGER. 

Detroit,  Grand  Haven  &  Milwaukee 


ii-AL.iXi^w-A.Tr. 


Th«  Shortest  and   Cheapest   Route  from 

DETROIT  TO    MILWAUKKK 

ST.  PAUL.    WISCONSIN,    MINNESOTA, 
DAKOTA      AND      THE    NORTHWEST. 


Ask  for  Tickets  by  the  Grand  Haven  Route. 
Ratss  sl^sys  ohtapsr  than  all  rail  lines. 


BEN.  FLETCHER. 

Traveling  Passenger  Agent,  DETROIT. 


THOMAS    MANNING, 

PROPRIETOR 

Ele^apt  SaiDple  apd  Wipe  Roorp, 

Corner  of  Woodward  Ave.  and  Atwater  St. 


BEST  OF  Wings.  UQUORS  AND  CIGARS,   LAGER  AND  OTHER  COOLING 

DRINKS. 

Convonisnt  to  Belle  Isle  Park  Ferry. 
Ladies'  Entrance  on  Atwater  St. 


P'^v^- 


DESHREE-SHOSCA. 

(PIOHTINQ  ISLAND.) 

Nine  Miles  belovsr  the  Gity  of  Detroit,  Michigan. 

e 
THE  NEWEST 

DELIGHTFUL  SUMMER   SHOOTING  AND 

FISHING  RESORT  IN  THE  WEST. 

• 

NEW  FIRST-CLASS  HOTEL  WITH 
ALL  MODERN   IMPROVEMENTS. 

EXCELLENT  DUCK  AND  SNIPE  SHOOTING  IN  SEASON. 


OILMAN  BROS., 
BARNES  &  CO 


:;t 


•    •    • 


PROPRIETORS     A.NC> 
MANAQERS. 


UROPEAN  HOTEL  "  " 


Restaurant  and  Caft, 


10-12-14  MONROE  AVENUE, 
DETROIT,  MICH. 

O 

Across  the  Square  from  the  City  Hall. 

All  Street  Car  Lines  within  one  minutes  walk. 


GEO.  H.  GIES  &  CO., 

Proprietors. 


V 


(;t 


Border  Canucks: 


Our  Friendly  Relations. 


A   NOVEL. 


BY 


GEO.  CAMERON  RANKIN, 


AUTHOR  OF 


"The  Canuck"  and  Other  Plays. 


DETROIT,  MICH.: 

G.  C.  Rankin,  Publisher. 

1890. 


Ri9 


r\ 


COPTRIOHTBD  1890 
BY 

CHARLES  S.  MoDONALD. 
All  rights  rmerved. 


■Hi» 


DEDICATION. 


With  Best  Wishes  for  his 
Welfare  and  Advancement,  this  Book  is  Dedicated 

TO  MY  Friend, 

The  Hon.  CHARLES  W.   CASGRAIN, 

City  Attorney,  Detroit,  Mich. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


-^  JW  '     *  v»«*^. "*'•*'  ■ 


CONTENTS. 


Faom 

Lesdkoxamih 1 

MuBiiiiAT  Faum 7 

A  Mai.kdiction  and  an  Inau(m;iiai-  Fiiiknih.y  Conpaji 19 

A  Dklkihtkdl  Plackto  LivK  AND  Kkkp  House  in.— A  Mixbd 

MAKiiiAaE 88 

A  Uuusii  Koii  Turc  Lead 41 

The  Widow  Mautin  and  IIeu  Pacini  T'ony  "  (JuAPAri) " R7 

The  Fakeus 69 

The  Race  on  the  Ice 79 

The  Widow's  Ball 105 

A  TUIIKEY  GOBIILKU  PaUENT— An  EMllAUKA8flING  SON  AND  HeiU 

—A  Retuospect— An  Ai'olo<iy  pou  a  liwiio,  Etc 181 

The  Vaoauieb  op  a  Domestic  Skeleton,  and  One  ov  the  Rr- 

8ULT8  of  a  Mixed  Maiuiiaqe 1 11 

A  SYiiPii  like  Alheit  Autpul  Nluse 178 

An  Idealistic  Stray  Sheep 183 

FiusT  Love's  Conspiracy .   . .  197 

Friendly  Relations,  ou  Ultimate  Annexation  ? 209 

Jacobin  Clocks  and  "  Le  ciiemin  de  cuois  " 219 

A  Little  Theology  and  a  "  Pat  Hand  " 281 

The  Suppeh— Petku  Bektkand's  Toast  and  Monsieuu  IIadee- 

show's  Reply 249 

Reactionery  Reflections 259 

An  International  Love  Scene 269 

A  Son  op  Erin 279 

A  Devoted  Mother  and  a  Penitent  Son 288 

The  Promised  Valedictory  Visit 291 


'yr.:ai±:^AJa'»,.O.ja  ■K^'fer; 


SSRHMI 


.  ■«»»•*< ■»"^r^m*"«^*««***'-' 


m 


7 


Border  Canucks; 


OUE  FRIENDLY  RELATIONS. 


CHAPTER  I 


Les  deux  amis, 

XT  WAS  the  29tli  of  Januaiy,  187—,  in  the  city  of 
-^    Detroit,  in  the  State  of  Michigan. 

The  reaction  following  the  busy  and  joyous  Christmas 
holiday  season  was  at  its  height,  and  dullness  held  its 
dampening  sway  throughout  the  retail  shops  and  market 
places  of  the  fair  metropolis. 

It  had  been  snowing  in  the  early  morning — a  dry,  mealy 
sort  of  snow,  which  did  but  little  to  improve  the  already 
tolerably  good  sleighing. 

Now,  at  eleven  o'clock  ai  the  day,  the  overcast,  darken- 
ing sky,  and  surcharged  lying  clouds  gave  sign  of  another 
storm  near  at  hand,  while  the  whistling  wind  wliich  rushed 
about  the  four  corners,  formed  by  the  intersection  of  the 
two  broad  chief  thoroughfares  of  the  city,  in  boisterous 
disturbance,  suggested  an  invisible  game  of  blind  man's 
buff  in  full  blast. 


\\ 


\ 


2 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


The  horses  on  the  neighboring  cab-stand  hunched  their 
backs  and  bowed  their  heads  as  ^  ,11  as  their  cruel  over- 
checks  would  allow,  and  squeezed  their  tails  between  their 
hocks  as  if  they  fain  would  squeeze  themselves  inside  of 
themselves  until  the  gathering  storm  rolled  by,  while  frost- 
laden  blasts  came  trooping  up  from  the  frozen  river,  and, 
arriving  at  the  nearest  of  the  four  corners,  would  suddenly 
stop  as  if  disgusted  at  the  abnormal  dullness  of  the  streets, 
and,  gathering  up  a  modicum  of  the  newly-fallen  snow,  fly 
away  with  it  in  spiral  columns  towards  the  regions  whence 
it  had  so  recently  come. 

In  the  midst  of  this  portentous  condition  of  the  elements 
a  young  man  wearing  a  Persian  lamb's-fur  overcoat  and 
cap,  and  driving  a  grey  pony  in  a  well-robed,  fashionable 
Portland  sleigh  passed  westward  down  one  of  the  intersecting 
streets  until  he  came  to  a  large  wholesale  and  retail  store 
with  an  imposing  front,  when  he  stopped,  got  out,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  tie  the  pony  to  a  hitching-post  on  the  curb. 

While  he  was  in  the  act  of  doing  this  there  came  out  of 
the  store  a  middle-aged  looking  man,  conciderably  above 
the  medium  height,  with  black,  or  dark  brown  hair  tinged 
with  grey,  and  dark  blue  eyes,  having  a  sad  expression  in 
them  until  they  caught  sight  of  the  youth  at  the  pony's 
head,  when  they  took  on  a  pleased  look,  and  the  whole  face 
lighted  up  with  good-natured  recognition. 

He  wore  a  full  beard,  and  his  dress  was  a  near  approach 
to  the  winter  costume  of  the  typical  French  Canadian 
habitant. 

His  overcoat  was  of  a  light  brownish-grey,  homespun, 
secured  by  a  dark  red  sash  about   the  waist,   while    his 


BORDER  CANUCKS.  ^  3 

trousers  were  of  a  shade  lighter  color  of  the  same  material, 
and  at  the  bottom  were  stuffed  inside  the  short  legs  of  a 
pair  of  shoe  pacs  On  his  head  he  wore  a  very  seedy 
muskrat  fur  cap,  and  upon  his  left  arm  hung  a  large  sized 
hand- basket,  which  upon  examination  would  be  found  to 
contain  a  couple  of  empty  bags. 

As  the  youth,  while  carefully  covering  the  pony  with  a 
thick  scarlet  horse  cloth,  caught  sight  of  the  other,  he  cried 
out  in  a  surprised  and  pleased  tone  of  voice:  "Hello, 
Jock,  old  fellow,  I'm  awfully  glad  to  see  you!  I.  was  just 
thinking  about  you  as  I  drove  down." 

"  Bah  gosh,  Monsieur  Jack,"  responded  the  Frenchman, 
as  he  crossed  tlje  sidewalk  towards  the  youtli,  "dat's  long 
taraAhnot  see  you.  How  was  you  mon  cher  ami?  And 
they  shook  hands  demonstratively. 

"  Oh,  I'm  all  right,  thank  you  Jock,"  replied  the  other. 
"I  don't  know  how  it  is  that  I've  happened  to  miss  you 
whenever  you've  been  in  the  city  of  late.  I  have  heard  of 
your  being  in  the  store  twice  since  Christmas,  but  I've  never 
happened  to  come  in  either  time  you  were  here." 

"  No,  you  see  Ah've  always  be  een  hurray  de  lass  tree 
four  tam  Ah've  be  on  de  ceetay." 

"  Yes,  but  why  more  so  than  usual  ?  But  let's  get  out  of 
the  wind  "  suggested  the  youth,  and  they  went  and  stood 
within  the  shelter  of  the  ca])acious  entrance  to  the  retail 
department  of  the  store.  "  Well,  you  see,"  resumed  the 
Frenchman,  **  mah  Meeses  have  not  be  well  lately.  She 
have  de  rheumatiss  pootay  bad,  an  de  two  youngess  chile 
have  de  meezle,  an  what  wus  wuss  of  all  pauvre  leetle 
Marie  have  kotch  cole  wit  de  fever  'bout  a  mons  ago,  an 


1 


4 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Ah  wus  'fraid  she  wus  goin  be  very  seeck,  an  so  you  see 
Ah  have  always  be  ankshus  to  got  back  home  soon's  Ah 
kin  whenevaire  Ah  have  be  on  de  ceetay  lately." 

"  "Why,  I  am  real  sorry  you've  been  in  such  trouble, 
Jock,"  exclaimed  the  youth,  sympathetically,  "  and  how 
are  they  now  ?  " 

"Oh,  dey  wus  all  raght  agin,  tank  God." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  replied  the  young  man,  heartily, 
"  and  my  especial  little  friend  Archange,  she  has  not  been 
ill  I  hope?" 

"  Ah,  no.  Archange  she's  nevaire  seek.  You  know  dey 
ses  she's  look  lac  me,  an  dough  she  doan  look  lac  she's 
strong,  she  wus  tuS  lac  Eengeen  rubber." 

"  I  tell  you,  Jock,  that's  going  to  be  a  pretty  girl  when 
she  grows  up,"  exclaimed  the  youth,  admiringly.  But  I'm 
glad  to  hear  Mrs.  Laforge  and  the  other  sick  ones  are  all 
right  again,  too." 

"  Ah,  yas !  de  Meeses  she's  move  'roun  all  raght  agin,  an 
Marie,  pauvre  chile,  was  work  hard  all  de  tarn  braiden  straw 
every  day,  every  day,  from  de  tarn  she's  got  up  een  de 
morning  teel  she's  go  to  bed  at  naight.  Why,  Monsieur 
Jack,"  continued  the  Frenchman,  rousing  up,  "  fur  how 
much  wurt  you  tink  dat  leetle  Marie  could  mac  een  ten 
day  braiden  straw  for  dees  store  ?  " 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  responded  the  youth,  "but  I 
do  know  that  she  is  a  remarkably  bright  and  clever  little 
girl." 

"  Well  sair,"  said  Jock,  as  if  he  were  giving  utterance  to 
something  scarcely  credible,  "you  kin  blceve  me  ou  no 
jews  ypu's  mine  to,  mats  Ah  have  got  on  mah  pockette  now 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


at  dees  tarn  jcwst  eight  dollaire  an  seextay  cent  dat  leetle 
ting  have  arne  een  ten  work  in  day." 

•'  Eight  dollars  and  sixty  cents  in  ten  days,"  repeated  the 
youth  in  surprise,  "  very  nearly  a  dollar  a  day !  Well,  by 
Jove  I  That  is  good  wages  for  a  little  crippled  girl  of  twelve 
years  old  to  earn,  and  no  mistake." 

"Yas  sair,"  said  the  Frenchman,  proudly,  "and  heur 
braid  was  always  fust-'  'ass.  Eet  always  fatch  de  bess 
prasse.  Ah'll  toll  you  she's  help  keep  it  de  famlay  good 
deal  on  dose  hard  tarn  wit  me." 

"Poor  Httle  thing,"  exclaimed  the  youth,  tenderly,  "I 
must  go  down  and  see  her  and  the  rest  of  the  family  before 
I  go  away." 

"  Ah !  wus  you  go  'way,  Monsieur  Jack  ?  "  enquired  the 
Frenchman  in  surprise.  *'  Excuse  moi  mon  cher,  mais 
where  was  you  go  ?  " 

"  I'm  going  to  New  York  before  the  end  of  the  week,  and 
I  wanted  in  any  case  to  go  down  and  see  you  about  stow- 
ing away  or  disposing  of  ni}'  duck  skiff  and  decoys." 

"  Aw,  yo  skeef  an  de  dekye  was  all  een  de  barn  to  home, 
an  dey  cood  stay  dare  unteel  you  wants  dem  een  de  spring." 

"  But  I  don't  think  I  shall  be  here  in  the  spring.  How- 
ever," continued  the  youth,  "  I'll  tell  you  all  about  my 
plans  when  I  go  down  to  see  you  to-morrow  or  next  day,  if 
it's  fine." 

"  Aw  well,  dat's  all  raght  den,  you  goan  come  an  see  us 
beefor  you  goes,"  exclaimed  the  Frenchman,  satisfiedly, 
tightening  his  coat  around  him  and  pulling  his  muskrat 
cap  down  further  over  his  head  as  he  looked  up  at  the 
gathering  clouds.     *'  On  de  meeu  tarn,  eef  Ah  doan  start 


^ 


6 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


now,  bab  gosh  I  Ah  bleeve  de  storm  goan  kotch  me  beefor 
Ah  wus  got  half  ways  home,"  and  turning  to  the  youth 
with  a  kindly  smile  upon  his  face  and  outstretched  right 
hand,  he  said:  "Good-bye  Monsieur  Jack.  Good-bye  fur 
de  pressen,"  and  they  shook  hands  heartily. 

"Good-bye  Jock  till  I  see  you  again." 

"  Mine,  we  wus  goan  look  fur  you  to-morrow  ou  de  nex 
day  fur  sure,"  enjoined  the  Frenchman.  "Goodbye  Mon- 
sieur Jack,"  and  he  hurriedly  took  his  way  down  the  street 
towards  the  ferry  that  crossed  to  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river. 

Thus  parted,  for  the  time  being,  these  two  friends  in  the 
gathering  storm — the  one  Jacques  Lafo'  ^e  to  his  home  on 
the  River  Canard,  on  the  Canadian  siae,  ten  miles  below 
the  city — the  other  young  John  Rathbone,  the  only  son  of 
Mr.  Robert  Rathbone,  the  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of 
Rathbone  and  Ritter,  into  whose  spacious  place  of  business 
he  now  entered. 


■MM 


1  me  beefor 
,o  the  youth 
itched  right 
ood-bye  fur 


ou  de  nex 
Ddbye  Mon- 
m  the  street 
3  of  the  river, 
ends  in  the 
bis  home  on 
miles  below 

only  son  of 
the  firm  of 

of  business. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Mushrat  Farm. 


nPHE  FIRM  of  Rathboneand  Ritter  were  extensive  deal- 
ers  in  furs,  hats,  caps  and  straw  goods  and  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  past  had  held  a  leading  position  throughout  the 
Union  as  manufacturers  of  what  is  known  to  the  trade  as 
"hand  made  Mackinaw  straw  braid."  This  circumstance  it 
is  presumed  was  in  great  measure  d  ue  to  the  fact  of  their  prox- 
imity to  an  extensive  settlement  of  people  whose  women 
folk  from  time  immemorial  have  made  the  braiding  of  straw 
for  hats  and  bonnets  an  industry  of  the  fireside  and  home. 

The  narrow  stretch  of  low-lying  country  on  the  Canadian 
side  extending  from  Stony  Point,  on  Lake  St.  Clair,  to  the 
River  Canard,  a  sluggish,  turbid  stream  which  empties  its 
brackish  waters  into  the  Detroit  River  some  half  dozen  miles 
above  its  mouth  at  the  head  of  Lake  Erie  (the  whole  being 
about  thirty-five  miles  in  length  and  from  three  to  five  miles 
in  depth  from  its  front  on  the  lake  and  river),  is  known  upon 
the  local  county  maps  as  the  French  survey.  It  is  so  des- 
ignated because  of  the  fact  that  in  common  with  all  other 
old  French  settlements  on  the  continent  founded  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  Lasalleand  the  Jesuits,  it  was  originally  divided  off 
into  tiers,  called  concessions,  of  attenuated  lots  three  arjpents* 
wide  by  thirty  in  depth. 

These  parieres  are  still  largely  occupied  by  descendants  of 
the  adventurous  harbingers  of  civilization  under  U  regime  de 

*Au  arpent  is  twelve  feet  less  than  a  lineal  Euglish  acre. 


I      !  /- 


8 


BORDER  CANUCES. 


la  Nouvelle  France,  who  with  a  characteristic  quaint  conserv- 
atism peculiar  to  their  remarkable  race,  to  this  day  prac- 
tice many  of  the  old  time  customs  and  still  possess  many  of 
the  domestic  habits  which  their  ancestors  sailed  from  North- 
ern France  with  three  hundred  years  and  more  ago.  In- 
deed, there  are  to  this  day  certain  localities  throughout  this 
"French  survey"  that  from  a  social  and  religions  point  of 
view  are  as  exclusively  French  as  are  any  of  the  canton- 
ments or  prefectures  of  old  France;  and  Monsieur  Ernest 
Gagnon  in  his  commendable  compilation  "Zes  Chansons  pop- 
ulair  du  Canada^^  makes  what  can  not  but  be  regarded  as  an 
extraordinary  announcement,  and  that  is  that  the  French 
Canadians  in  some  respects  have  been  far  more  conservative 
of  certain  ancient  peasant  customs  extant  in  France  three 
hundred  years  ago,  than  have  their  cousins  of  the  mother 
country. 

However  that  may  be,  the  Riviere  Canard  settlement  at 
the  outset  of  the  period  of  this  story  was  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  an  exclusively  French  community  which  counted 
among  its  resident  members  Jacques  Laforge,  small  farmer, 
hunter,  trapper,  fishermnn  and  the  husband  and  father  re- 
spectively of  a  wife  and  little  crippled  daughter,  the  eldest 
of  a  numerous  family,  who  plaited  straw  braid,  in  common 
with  numerous  other  wives  and  daughters  of  the  rural  vicin- 
age, for  Messrs.  Eathbone&;  Ritter,  of  Detroit 

Monsieur  Laforge's  farm  fronted  upon  the  northwest  side 
of  the  highway,  running  parallel  with  the  Detroit  river  about 
forty  rods  east  from  where  it  crosses  the  Riviere  Canard  over 
a  palsied  wooden  drawbridge  and  thence  in  a  northwesterly 
direction  towards  tlic  m-ai:^  river  for  seven  or  eight  acres, 


■m 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


9 


aint  conserv- 
lis  day  prac- 
sess  many  of 

from  North- 
•re  ago.  In- 
'oughout  this 
ions  point  of 
I  the  canton- 
isieur  Ernest 
Chausonspop- 
sgarded  as  an 
t  the  French 

conservative 
France  three 
I  the  mother 

settlement  at 
I  intents  and 
hich  counted 
mall  farmer, 
d  father  re- 
er,  the  eldest 
in  common 
e  rural  vicin- 

rthwest  side 
it  river  about 

Canard  over 
orthwesterly 

eight  acres, 


until  all  possibility  of  marking  its  boundaries  is  lost  amidst 
the  tall  rushes,  muskrat  hills  and  stagnant  bayous  of  the 
vast  marsh,  which  constitutes  the  amphibious  gore  of  terri- 
tory formed  b}'^  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers.  His  deed 
called  for  the  usual  sized  French  lot  of  three  arpents  in 
width  by  thirty  in  length — "ninety  arpents  be  the  same 
more  or  less" — but  not  more  than  twenty-five  acres  thereof 
were  ever  at  any  time  available  for  purposes  of  active  cul- 
tivation. 

The  lot  had  been  given  our  friend  before  he  left  the  paren- 
tal fold  by  his  father,  old  Emanuel  Laforge,  a  venerable  and 
courteous,  albeit  illiterate,  habitant  of  the  old  school  who 
still  lived  on  the  family  homestead  some  three  miles  up  the 
river  road  in  what  is  known  as  the  "Petite  Cote  radish  set- 
tlement." 

The  old  man  had  bought  the  land  in  at  tax  sale  to 
strengthen  a  somewhat  shakey  title  by  right  of  possession 
obtained  from  its  previous  occupant  and  when,  thirteen  years 
before  the  opening  of  this  narrative,  after  a  long  drawn-out 
boy  and  girl  courtship,  Archange  Ronseau,  aged  eighteen, 
pretty  and  good-tempered,  had  been  permitted  to  marry 
Jaques  Laforge  before  he  was  yet  twenty,  the  latter  had 
before  their  marriage  contrived  to  furbish  up  the  tumbled 
down  premises. 

lie  had  patched  up  the  dilapidated,  long  unused  barn  by 
stuffing  up  the  open  spaces  twixt  the  logs  with  fresh  clay, 
replacing  the  shaky  hingeless  doors  with  new  ones  and 
whitewashing  the  whole  with  a  liberal  coating  of  whitewash. 
The  prim  fowl  house  and  diminutive  adjoining  woodshed 
he  subjected  to  the  same  process  of  rejuvenation,  and  upon 


I    .) 


10 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


the  dwelling  itself  he  exhausted  whatever  of  ingenuity  he 
possessed  in  making  out  of  small  means  a  nest  as  nearly  as 
might  be,  worthy  of  his  young  life's  lova 

The  house  was  of  the  style  of  architecture  so  common  in 
the  rural  districts  of  Quebec. 

Indeed  it  had  been  originally  built  by  an  adventurous 
emigrant  from  that  province,  who  had  been  in  due  course 
forced  into  throwing  up  the  sponge  to  malaria  and  mosqui- 
toes, and  selling  out  his  squatter's  rights  for  a  nominal  figure 
to  Laforge,  pere,  had  returned  to  the  land  of  his  nativity 
with  sunken  eye  and  a  parched  and  jaundiced  skin. 

The  building  set  back  from  the  highway  about  half  an 
acre,  and  was  between  twenty-five  and  thirty  feet  in  length 
facing  the  same.  About  ten  feet  from  either  end  of  its  steep 
pitched  gable  roof  there  popped  up  a  complacent  dormer 
window  like  two  duely  pacified  and  properly  domesticated 
Jacks  in  boxes.  With  one  fell  swoop,  as  it  were,  this  roof 
on  the  side  fronting  the  road  extended  on  down  towards  the 
ground  sufficient  to  cover  a  veranda,  which  ran  the  full 
length  of  the  building,  and  in  point  of  fact  the  frame  of  the 
veranda  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  main  structure.  The 
Dutch  school  of  decoration  was  employed  in  its  embellish- 
ment in  that  our  Benedict  yellow-washed  the  body  of  the 
building  and  painted  the  front  door,  window  casings  and 
banister  encircling  the  balcony  a  light  Prussian  blue.  Its 
foundation  was  not  upon  a  rock,  but  upon  upright  cedar  posts 
four  feet  high  from  the  humid  ground  below  with  a  sta/- 
way  of  five  steps  at  the  centre  of  the  veranda  in  the  front 
and  a  corresponding  one  at  the  rear  side  leading  to  a  plat- 


BOUDKU  CANUCKS. 


11 


f  ingenuity  he 
ist  as  nearly  as 

so  common  in 

n  adventurous 

in  due  course 

ia  and  mosqui- 

nominal  figure 

of  his  nativity 

d  skin. 

about  half  an 
jr  feet  in  length 
end  of  its  steep 
Dlacent  dormer 
y  domesticated 

were,  this  roof 
5\'n  towards  the 
h  ran  the  full 
le  frame  of  the 
tructure.     The 

its  embellish- 
le  body  of  the 
w  casings  and 
sian  blue.  Its 
ght  cedar  posts 
7  with  a  stajf- 
la  in  the  front 
iing  to  a  plat- 


form lean-to  facing  the  frame  kitchen,  which  projected  out 
of  its  back  part  like  a  stiff,  stubby  tail. 

Until  in  later  years  when  these  upright  foundation  posts 
were  hidden  from  view  by  being  boarded  over,  a  side  view 
of  the  domicile  suggested  an  obese  woman,  with  uplifted 
skirts,  in  the  act  of  crossing  a  muddy  thoroughfare.  For 
the  rest,  the  main  building,  which  was  of  hewn,  chinked  logs, 
was  alike  divided  into  two  compartments  upstairs  and  down- 
stairs, the  large  frame  kitchen  in  the  rear  being  the  dming 
and  living  room  as  well. 

This  was  and  is  the  home  in  the  Canard  settlement  on  the 
Detroit  River  of  Jacques  Laforge,  whose  prototype  is  a 
familiar  figure  in  the  French  parishes  scattered  along  that 
portion  of  the  border  of  the  Queen's  dominions. 

To  this  home  upon  the  confines  of  the  marshes,  regardless 
of  the  buzz  and  bite  of  mosquitoes  which  at  certain  seasons 
seemed  to  permeate  the  very  gases  composing  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  neighborhood,  and  despite  the  inevitable  an- 
nual shakes  of  nauseating  ague,  Mons.  Jacques  Laforge 
brought  his  amiable  young  bride. 

Here  had  his  devoted  wife  blossomed  forth  and  made  him 
a  father  before  quite  eleven  months  had  elapsed  from  their 
wedding  day  with  its  long  procession  of  holiday  vehicles 
and  their  joyous  occupants,  first  to  the  church  and  then  to 
the  house  of  his  wife's  father,  his  own  paternal  roof  and  the 
domiciles  of  other  sympathizing  friends  and  relatives — all 
winding  up  by  being  bidden  au  revoir  and  Godspeed  at  his 
own  threshold  by  an  hilarious  crowd  of  merry-makers  in  the 
wee  sma'  hours  of  the  next  succeeding  morn. 


12 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


It  all  seemed  such  a  very  short  time  ngo  since  this  aus- 
picious event  happened,  and  yet  it  was  cloao  upon  fourteen 
years  past  and  gone ! 

Until  tlie  last  eighteen  months  the  blossoming  process  had 
gone  on  annually  with  unfailing  reguUirity,  until  ho  found 
himself  the  parent  stem  of  a  bunch  of  blossoms  numbering 
nine,  with  two  dead,  when  the  roll  was  called.  "Bah  Gosh, 
dc  chiles  come  so  fass  at  de  fust  of  eet,"  Mr.  Laforge  was  in 
the  habit  of  saying,  "dat's  fright  me.  Becfor  dc  fuss  wan 
wus  got  toots  on  hees  head,  aw !  hoorah  bye  I  anuddair  wan 
was  on  de  craddlc;  an  jews  soon's  dat  wan  wus  use  to  look 
'round  and  notteece  what's  go  on  leetle  beet,  aw,  voila  I  dar 
wus  nuddair  wan  on  han  fur  took  hees  plasse.  Ah'll  toll 
you,  mah  fren,  moss  ov  mah  tam  fur  de  fuss  tree,  four  year 
aftaire  we  wus  marry  wus  occoopy  wit  nussin." 

Howbeit,  though  this  was  to  a  large  extent  a  fact,  and 
with  that  vanity  common  to  lords  of  creation  in  respect  of 
his  capacity  to  perform  woman's  work,  Jacques  had  gotten 
to  think  that,  armed  with  an  India  rubber  nippled  bottle, 
containing  a  decoction  of  cow's  milk  and  sugar,  he  could  be 
as  good  as  any  mother  to  an  infant,  still  the  work  upon  the 
farm  did  not  go  unmindful  of  attention.  With  an  energy 
begotten  of  an  imperturbable  amiability  and  a  determined 
disposition  to  provide  for  growing  responsibilities,  he  sim- 
ultaneously performed  the  duties  of  acting  wet-nurse  and 
cultivator  of  a  largely  submerged  marsh  farm  in  a  manner 
not  altogether  discreditable  to  himself. 

In  the  former  role  he  at  least  possessed  the  quality  of 
supreme  patience,  growing  at  the  same  time,  as  most  sub- 
stitute nurses  of  infants  are  said  to  do,  absurdly  fond  of  the 


r'^'.DEU  CANUCKS. 


18 


since  tills  aus- 
0  upon  fourteen 

ling  process  had 
until  lie  found 
lonis  nunnbcring 
d.  "Bah  Gosli, 
Laforgo  was  in 
or  de  fuss  wan 
il  anuddairwan 
sv'us  use  to  loolc 
.,  aw,  voilal  dar 
[isse.  Airil  toll 
s  tree,  four  year 

in." 

ont  a  fact,  and 

3n  in  respect  of 

ues  had  gotten 

nippled  bottle, 
^ar,  he  could  be 

work  upon  the 
V"ith  an  energy 
d  a  determined 
bilities,  he  sim- 

wet- nurse  and 
'ni  in  a  manner 

.  the  quality  of 
e,  as  most  sub- 
rdly  fond  of  the 


objects  of  his  care  and  especially  of  littlo  Marie  his  first- 
born; while  in  his  efforts  on  the  farm  he  was  ambitious  of 
redeeming  from  the  sway  of  stagnant,  vordunt  waters  and 
boggy  bayous,  sufficient  of  terra  Jirma  to  relieve  his  holding  of 
its  sobriquet  of  "  Mushrat  Farm  "  given  it  by  certain  of  his 
cotemporary  friends  and  acquaintances  with  a  facetious  dis- 
position to  chaflfand  ridicule. 

To  this  end,  after  locating  a  fall  for  the  water  he  dug  a 
di+^h  east  and  west  across  the  fifteen  acres  intervening  twixt 
th  dry  cultivated  land  on  which  were  the  house  and  out- 
buildingsand  the  irreclaimable  marsh,  which  area  Lc  had  sue* 
ceeded  in  encircling  with  a  rail  fence.  The  following  year 
being  dry  and  in  every  way  propitious  for  such  pur{)ose,  he 
succeeded  in  breaking  up  this  field  with  the  plow,  and  plant- 
ing a  crop  of  Indian  corn,  which  after  a  period  of  languish- 
ing yellow  growth  came  to  partial  maturity  and  yielded  a 
half  crop  of  deformed  and  sickly  looking  nubbins. 

Believing  that  this  method  of  cultivation  —  this  kind  of 
hoed  crop  —  would  most  rapidly  and  effectively  bring  the 
soil  into  subjection  he  repeated  his  corn  planting  for  three 
or  four  consecutive  seasons  with  varyiiig  success  as  to  yield, 
until  he  bethought  him  that  he'd  sow  the  field  with  oats 
and  seed  it  down  v/ith  grass  seed  for  meadow. 

Meanwhile  the  domestic  blossoms  blossomed  forth  an- 
nually, and  there  was  ever  a  recurring  stranger  in  the  home- 
made basswood  cradle. 

Marie,  the  first  of  these  wlien  a  soft,  brown-eyed,  olive 
complexioned  little  tot  just  able  to  comfortably  waddle 
about  was  ever  at  her  father's  heels  in  the  neighboring 
field,  the  barn  yard  or  the  house. 


tS" 


14 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


She  had  undergone  all  the  stereotyped  infantile»maladies 
and  a  siege  of  ague,  through  which  her  father  had  been  her 
chief  nurse  and  caretaker  until  he  had  grown  to  be  the 
summum  bonum  of  her  little  life. 

There  seemed  no  possibility  of  avoiding  the  annual  visit- 
ations of  the  ague. 

With  each  succeeding  spring  and  wet  fall  every  available 
member  of  the  family  shook  the  soul-sickening  sliake  of 
a  torpid  or  constipated  liver.  Howbeit,  like  puppies  with 
the  distemper,  as  each  succeeding  blossom  of  tlie  house- 
hold became  big  enough  to  stand  a  natural  sliake  in  con- 
tradistinction to  an  artificial  one  (which  has  an  unknown 
quantity  within  the  portals  of  this  particular  domestic  fold), 
he  or  she  was  subjected  to  the  crucible  of  two  or  three 
seasons'  tremors  which  once  over  seemed  to  strengthen  the 
child's  hold  upon  life,  rendering  he  or  she  redolent  of  youth- 
ful vigor. 

Of  his  children,  Mr.  Laforge  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  to 
his  English  speaking  friends,  "Ah'll  toll  you  mah  fren, 
"  mah  chile  was  all  strong  lac  boole ! 

"Dey  was  coppair  fass  an  reeveet  bote  heenside  an  hout- 
'side  I     De  ager  have  try  hees  bess  fur  shook  dem  off  dees 

*  worl  'mats  she's  coo'nt  do  eet.      Yas  sair  I  all  of  dem  was 

*  foole  of  laf  an  belt  all  'cep  our  pauvre  petite  Marie.  Ah, 
*m-onsieur,  when  Ah  tink  of  dat  po'  leetle  cret'[)le  chile, 
Mat's  mac  me  blam  meseff  an   Ah  feels  bad  lac  secstay." 

After  saying  which  he  usually  had  to  fumble  about  his 
pockets  for  a  yellow  bandanna  pocket  handkerchief,  inter- 
spersed wnh  white  moons,  which  he  perennially  carried  for 
use  m  such  emergencies. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


15 


antile»maladies 
r  had  been  her 
3wn  to  be  the 

le  annual  visit- 

jvery  available 
ining  shake  of 
3  puppies  with 
of  the  house- 
shake  in  con- 
is  an  unknown 
iomestic  fold), 
[  two  or  three 
strengthen  the 
olent  of  youth- 

►it  of  saying  to 
^ou  mah  fren, 

□side  an  hout- 
dem  off  dees 

all  of  dern  was 
Marie.  Ah, 
cret'ple  chile, 

1  lac  secstay." 

ble  about  his 

erchief,  inter- 

V  carried  for 


Little  Jklarie's  crippled  condition  was  due  to  an  accident 
which  happened  in  the  partially  redeemed  marsh  meadow 
on  the  evening  of  the  last  day  her  father  had  wrought 
therein,  and  for  this  mishap  he  so  blamed  himself  that  he 
had  become  bitterly  morbid  upon  the  subject. 

It  was  well  on  towards  dark  on  a  lowering  evening  in  the 
latter  part  of  April  that  Jacques  had  finished  seeding  down 
the  fifteen  acre  field  which  had  cost  him  so  much  of  hard 
labor  and  so  many  sickening  soul-warping  ague  shakes. 
He  had  put  forth  all  his  huge  strength  and  capacity  for 
work  to  the  utmost  to  finish  th .'  task  before  the  rain  came, 
and  this  the  overhanging  clouds  of  portentous  omen,  the 
chirping  of  the  myriad  frogs  throughout  the  vast  marsh  in 
every  conceivable  key  of  intonation,  the  deep  sounding 
notes  of  the  Wahwahron  (bull  frog)  and  the  weird  call  of 
the  distant  loon,  all  went  to  show  was  not  far  off. 

He  was  just  finishing  the  last  harrowing  of  the  field 
when  he  was  hailed,  in  a  little  piping  voice  from  a  little  pair 
of  lungs  very  much  out  of  breath,  and  asked  why  he  was 
stopping  out  there  so  long?  Wasn't  he  afraid  the  Loup 
Oarou  (Banshee)  or  luiiiis  (fairies)  would  catch  him,  that 
Maw-Maw  wanted  him  to  come  in  to  supper  right  away. 

He  told  her  to  come  over  to  where  he  was  and  he'd  put 
her  on  Blonde  (one  of  the  team  of  ponies)  for  a  ride  to  the 
barn,  and  then  he  had  proceeded  to  unhitch  the  horses  from 
the  harrow. 

Poor  little  Marie  I  Tfiat  run  across  the  newly  plowed  field 
in  the  gloaming  of  that  storm-threatened  April  evening  was 
the  last  unimpeded  use  of  her  fragile  young  limbs  she  ever 
had. 


16 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


!  I 


Breathlessly  she  had  thrown  her  littl,3  arms  around  her 
father's  knees  while  he  was  still  occupied  with  loosening 
the  ponies  from  their  work  and  then  finishiLg  this,  amidst 
a  volley  of  loving,  lisping  epithets  and  baby-talk  he  had 
taken  her  up  in  his  great,  strong  arms  and  allowed  her  to 
vent  her  infant  strength  in  hugging  and  kissing  him. 

Then  he  put  her  on  Blonde  and  told  her  to  hold  fast  to 
the  harness  saddle-band  until  he  went  across  the  field  to 
fetch  the  neckyoke. 

He  had  not  got  more  than  a  hundred  feet  ">m  her  when 
Carlo  the  dog  came  bounding  over  the  rail  j.^ace,  not  ten 
feet  from  the  horses'  heads,  which  so  startled  them  in  the 
dim,  lowering  twilight  that  they  gave  one  bound  backwards, 
and  with  a  wild  and  frantic  baby  shriek,  which  for  months 
afterwards  never  ceased  its  sickening  echo  in  Jacques'  grief- 
stricken  ears,  the  little  child  lay  prone  upon  the  old  fashioned 
wooden  harrow. 

The  fall  was  accompanied  by  so  sickening  and  resound- 
ing a  thud  followed  by  so  awful  a  stillness, the  very 

frogs  seemed  hushed  into  silence  for  the  instant  —  that  an  all 
absorbing  fear  took  possession  of  the  simple-minded  father 
—  a  blood-curdling  fear  mingled  with  that  kind  of  feeling 


the  brutes  must  have  whan  defending  their 


young 


from 


danger. 

He  seized  upon  the  dog  who  had  come  jumping  and 
fawning  upon  him  and  flayed  him  till  he  howled  again. 

Then  he  went  to  the  innocent  horses  and  laid  about  them 
with  the  remnant  of  the  whip  he  still  clutched  with  a  vise- 
like grip  in  his  strong,  right  hand  until  they  scampered  o£E 
in  terror  to  their  stable. 


m 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


17 


13  around  her 
with  loosening 
:g  this,  amidst 
)y-talk  he  had 
allowed  her  to 
ng  him. 

,o  hold  fast  to 
33  the  field  to 

■>m  her  when 
xNjnce,  not  ten 
id  them  in  the 
md  backwards, 
lich  for  months 
Jacques'  grief- 
le  old  fashioned 


Left  now  some  twenty  feet  from  the  motionless  baby, 
'lying  where  she  had  fallen  in  the  silence  of  apparent  death, 
he  turned  towards  the  tiny  prostrate  form  and  with  a  horror- 
thrilling  sensation  about  the  back  of  his  neck  and  head  and 
nausea  at  his  stomach  he  tried  to  speak  but  could  not 

Slowly  and  mechanically  with  tottering  steps  he  ap- 
proaches his  little  daughter  with  his  left  hand  over  his 
mouth  as  if  tp  stop  the  noise  of  his  involuntary ,  inward 
shivering. 

For  one  instant  he  stands  swaying  like  a  drunken  man 
over  the  unconscious  child  and  then  with  a  supreme  eilort 
he  touches  her  little  face  and  in  an  unearthly  yelling-moan 
cries  out,  "0^,  Afon  Dieuf  Mon  Dieul!  Elle  est  Merte  /.'" 
and  the  strong  man  lay  grovelling  upon  the  earth  beside 
the  old  wooden  harrow  riven  to  the  heart's  core  as  the 
lightening  riveth  the  oak  of  the  forest 


2  and  resound- 

the  very 

it  —  that  an  all 

-minded  father 

ind  of  feeling 

ir  young  from 


jumping  and 
wled  again, 
lid  about  them 
ed  with  a  vise- 
'  scampered  off 


^J 


CHAPTER  III. 


A  Malediction  and  an  Inaugural  Friendly  Cor\fab, 

'ACQUES  "WAS  never  conscious  of  how  he  got  to  the 
house. 

His  first  realization  of  his  reaching  there  was  some  three 
'  iiours  after  the  occurrence,  when,  on  the  arrival  of  the  doc- 
tor, he  was  induced  to  relinquish  from  his  arms,  where  he 
iad  ever  since  clasped  it  with  moaning  inarticulate  solici- 
tude, the  still  scarcely  breathing  form  of  the  injured,  little 
-child. 

For  days  and  weeks  little  Marie  vibrated  between  life  and 
death,  and  for  days  and  weeks  Jacques  oscillated  twixt  re- 
gions of  passive  dementia  and  a  sort  of  phrenzied  indiffer- 
ence of  passing  events  outside  the  little,  sick  one's  presenca 

Whenever  he  continued  to  sleep  he  again  acted  out  in  his 
■dreams  the  terrible  tragedy  of  the  fifteen  acre  field  until  he 
cursed  its  very  existence  and  the  labor  he  had  wrought  upon 
it — calling  Heaven  to  witness  that  it  should  ever  remain  un- 
touched of  plow  or  harrow  so  long  as  it  continued  in  his 
j>ossession. 

Marie  had  fallen  upon  the  back  of  her  neck  and  head,  and 
the  spinal  column  had  been  so  effected  by  the  concussion 
that  for  weeks  she  hovered  upon  the  confines  of  positive 
Spinal  menengitis.  In  any  event,  the  doctor  (who  was  a 
clever  allopath)  pronounced  her  complete  recovery  from  the 
liffects  of  the  shock  as  out  of  the  question.  She  would  surely 
jemain  a  cripple  as  long  as  she  lived,  and  in  this  diagnosis 
ii  the  case  he  was  thus  far  proved  entirely  correct 

(19) 


20 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Gradually  the  poor  little  thing  struggled  back  to  life  an 
consciousness  again — in  this  regard,  as  it  were,  repeating  th 
history  of  her  scarcely  completed  babyhood,  until,  by  din 
of  years  of  patient  suffering,  she  grew  sufficiently  strong  bot 
mentally  and  physically  to  wield  the  sceptre  of  acting  drudg 
and  quasi-guardian  angel  to  a  numerous  family  of  brother 
and  sisters,  to  say  nothing  of  her  self-condemnatory  father. 

The  latter's  sacreligious  curse  of  the  fifteen  acre  field  mad^ 
it  desirable  that  he  should  sell  the  farm  and  move  elsewhen 
to  live.  Now  that  its  cultivable  area,  in  so  far  as  he  wai 
concerned,  was  permanently  fixed  at  seven  or  eight  acres 
there  was  very  little  hope  of  its  ever  outliving  its  facetiouslj 
amphibious  name  of  "Mushrat  Farm."  The  field  that  h( 
had  so  grunted  and  sweated  over  in  his  efforts  to  rescue  f  ron 
the  arid  bogs  and  humid  mosses  of  the  marsh  added  to  th( 
black  loamed,  rich  acres  off  which  he  had  heretofore  reaped 
such  generous  yields,  would  have  entitled  it  to  consideratiou 
as  a  holding  available  for  almost  any  agricultural  purpose 
and  greatly  enhanced  its  value. 

But  this  was  out  of  the  question  now. 

That  he  should  have  striven  so  hard  and  suffered  so  much 
from  malaria  and  mosquitoes  during  his  long  continued  ef- 
forts to  rescue  the  field  from  stagnant  waters — the  whole 
winding  up  with  this  fatal  accident,  the  outcome  of  his  own 
careless  stupidity — seemed  to  justify  his  cursing  the  scene 
of  his  great  trouble,  and  vowing  that  ever  while  he  owned  it 
should  it  remain  untouched  of  plow  or  harrow. 

Manifestly  his  proper  course  was  to  sell  out  and  move  else- 
where to  live,  but  then  where  was  he  to  find  a  purchaser? 
"Who  would  be  prepared  to  pay  money — absolute  money— 


BORDER  CANCCKS. 


21 


jgled  back  to  life  and 
it  were,  repeating  the 
yhood,  until,  by  dint 
ifficiently  strong  both 
eptre  of  acting  drudge 
IS  family  of  brothers 
ndemnatory  father, 
fifteen  acre  field  made 
1  and  move  elsewhere 
I,  in  so  far  as  he  was 
seven  or  eight  acres, 
,tliving  its  facetiously 
"  The  field  that  he 
efforts  to  rescue  from 
e  marsh  added  to  the 
lad  heretofore  reaped 
ed  it  to  consideration 
agricultural  purpose 


and  suffered  so  much 
is  long  continued  ef- 
waters — the  whole 
3  outcome  of  his  own 
is  cursing  the  scene 
-^er  while  he  owned  it 
harrow. 

3II  out  and  move  else- 
to  find  a  purchaser? 
— absolute  money- 


tor  "Mushrat  Farm,"  with  its  malaria,  its  mosquitoes,  its 
Inusic  of  the  frogs  and  its  seven  or  eight  narrow  acres  avail- 
able for  active  cultivation  ? 

If  some  greenhorn  from  Lower  Canada  or  foreign  country, 
inexperienced  of  ague  and  mosquitoes  and  very  much  in 
l^ant  of  a  place  to  call  his  own,  oame  along  with  a  little 
money  he  perhaps  might  be  induced  to  purchase ;  but  no 
5)ne  with  any  savoir  faire  of  the  locality  would  be  likely  to 
Invest  his  capital  in  "  Mushrat  Farm  "  as  a  place  of  resi- 
<lence  and  a  means  of  livelihood. 

;)    So  there  seemed  no  alternative  to  his  reconciling  himself 
io  remaining  where  he  was. 

It  was  quite  true  that  the  farm  had  contributed  but  little, 
agriculturally  speaking,  to  the  maintenance  of  himself  and 
liis  family,  but  as  heretofore,  wiin  the  marsh  or  submerged 
;  iportioQ  of  it  as  a  base  of  operations,  he  had  but  very  little 
^oubt  but  that  in  the  future  he  would  be  enabled  to  shoot, 
in  their  proper  season,  sufficient  ducks  and  other  fowl  for 
the  market  and  secure  suflBcient  grebe's  breasts  and  musk- 
rats  and  occasional  mink  skins  by  trapping  or  otherwise 
tilling  them  to  make  up  for  the  circumscribed  limits  of  his 
;5&gricultural  operations. 

V    Nor  was  this  Jacques'  only  source  of  income  and  profit- 
|Bble  occupation  outside  the  product  of  the  farm. 

During  five  or  six  weeks  of  every  autumn  for  several 
jbeasonspast  he  had  held  the  position  of  ^'jetteur  dela seine, " 
pr  foreman  at  one  of  the  white-fisheries  on  the  Detroit  river 
iBituated  within  easy  access  of  his  home. 

Of  old  time  these  fisheries  were  to  their  lessees  or  owners 
prolific  means  of  money-getting  during  the  catch  of  these 


1^ 


22 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


delicately  delicious  fiah  which  lasted  while  they  continued 
to  wend  their  annual  way  up  the  river  from  the  lake  below 
to  spawn,  from  the  beginning  of  October  to  the  latter  part  of 
November. 

Owing,  however,  it  is  said,  chiefly  to  the  wholesale  method 
of  taking  them  on  their  feeding  grounds  in  the  lake  with 
pond  nets,  so  long  permitted  on  both  sides  of  the  border,  in 
the  absence  of  some  reciprocal  and  concerted  action  on  the 
part  of  the  two  governments  interested,  the  goose  that  lays 
the  golden  egg  has  gradually  been  being  put  to  death  for 
years  past,  until  now  the  one  time  profitable  industry  of 
taking  white  fish  on  the  Detroit  river  is  a  precarious  and 
unpromising  undertaking. 

In  addition  to  these  means  of  assistance  Jacques  had  in 
keeping  the  wolf  from  the  door,  there  was  occupation  for 
his  sturdy  team  of  ponies  during  the  winter  months  in 
the  hauling  of  logs  out  of  the  bush  to  the  banks  of  the 
Canard  river  for  the  local  contractors  and  jobbers. 

But  none  of  his  availabe  sources  of  income  had  thus  far 
yielded  returns  so  satisfactory  as  had  his  trapping  of  musk- 
rats  and  shooting  of  ducks  that  frequented  the  marshes  and 
rivers  at  certain  periods  of  each  spring  and  fall. 

With  the  muskrat  skins,  grebe's  breasts  and  occasionnl 
mink  skins  he  had  heretofore  secured,  he  had  set  up  a  sort 
of  business  connection  with  the  firm  of  Eathbone  &  Ritter, 
who  had  always  dealt  fairly  and  liberally  with  him  in  tak- 
ing off  his  hands  the  product  of  each  trapping  season  for 
several  years  past. 

It  was  while  he  was  on  one  of  these  periodical  visits  to  tlie 
store  of  the  firm  with  an  unusually  large  and  fine  lot  of  skins 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


28 


le  they  continued 
tn  the  lake  below 

>  the  latter  part  of 

wholesale  method 
in  the  lake  with 
of  the  border,  in 
rted  action  on  the 
le  goose  that  lays  | 
y  put  to  death  for  i 
table  industry  of 
J  a  precarious  and  I 

;  Jacques  had  in 
ras  occupation  for 
winter  months  in 

>  the  banks  of  the 
jobbera 

ome  had  thus  far 
trapping  of  musk- 
I  the  marshes  and 
d  fall. 

ts  and  occasionnl 
had  set  up  a  sort 
,athbone  &  Eitter, 
with  him  in  tak- 
apping  season  for 

odical  visits  to  the 
rd  fine  lot  of  skins 


[that  he  first  met  and  talked  with  young  Master  Jack  Rath- 
ibone,  then  only  a  boy  of  thirteen  in  jacket  and  Knicker- 
[bockers. 

Young  Ratubone  was  a  large,  well  developed  boy  for  his 

[age,  and  withal  a  remarkably  handsome  lad  about  the  face 

and  head,  which  was  well  set  on  a  pair  of  broad  shoulders 

and  covered  with  a  thick  coating  of  flaxen  hair  slightly  in- 

|clined  to  frizzle  and  curl  up  at  the  ends. 

While  one  of  the  clerks,  an  expert  in  the  business,  was 
I  busy  sorting  and  classifying  the  furs  Jacques  had  just  brought 
I  in,  Master  Jack  with  a  short  riding  whip  in  hand,  and  look- 
ling  flushed  from  exercise  came  in  from  the  street  and,  ad- 
1  dressing  the  clerk,  said:     "Good  morning,  Mr.  Lomax,  is 
father  in  the  office?"     And  then  without  waiting  for  an 
answer  he  continued,  "  My  goodness !  those  are  a  fine  lot  of 
skins,  aren't  they,  Mr.  Lomax  ?" 

"  Yes,  a  pretty  fair  lot,"  answered  the  preoccupied  clerk. 
Then  turning  to  Jacques  the  boy  asked,  "  Did  you  catch 
all  those  animals  yourself,  sir?" 

"Ah,  yas;  Ah've  kotch  dem  all  bah  meseff,"  replied  the 
,^  hunter  smilingly. 

"  Whereabouts?     Up  or  down  the  river?  " 
"  Down  de  riviere.  Monsieur;  down  on  de  riviere  Canard 
mash." 

"  Oh,  is  that  the  big  marsh  on  the  Canada  side  opposite 
Wyandotte?" 

"Yas,  dat's  de  wan." 

"  Well,  I've  always  thought  whenever  I've  passed  there 
"^on  a  steamboat  that  there  must  be  lots  to  hunt  and  shoot  in 


I 


24 


DOUDEIl  CANUCKS. 


SO  big  a  marsh.  I  suppose  there  are  lots  of  ducks  down 
there,  aren't  there?  " 

"  Ah,  yas;  plentay  dock  on  de  sayson — on  de  spreeng  an 
fall  tam." 

"Anything  else?  "  enquired  this  incipient  Nimrod. 

"  Well,  yas;  dare  was  plentay  ploovoir  and  snaps  moss  all 
de  tam,"  replied  the  Frenchman,  "  but  me,  Ah  doan  care  nut* 
ting  'bout  dat;  dey  wus  not  wort  shootin." 

"  What ! "  cried  the  boy  in  amazement,  "  snipe  and  plover 
not  worth  shooting  I  Well,  I  should  remark  that's  a  funny 
thing  to  say !  Why,  I'd  rather  have  one  golden  plover  or 
jack  snipe  than  any  six  old  fish  ducks  that  ever  flew  1 " 

"But"  remonstrated  Jacques,  "dey  wus  not  all  feesh 
dock  what  we's  got  down  on  de  riviere  Canard  mash  joar  exam- 
pie  I  We's  got  black  dock,  grey  dock  an  teels  moss  all  de 
tam,  cos  dey  breeds  on  de  mash;  an  on  de  sayson  we's  got 
blue  beel,  an  cou  Wouge  an  canvas  back  an " 

"Canvas  back!"  interrupted  the  boy  enthusiastically, 
"  are  you  sure  that  you've  got  the  genuine,  sure  enough  can- 
vas back,  sir  ?  " 

"Aw,  yas,  am  sure,"  responded  the  Frenchman  nodding 
his  head  confidently. 

"Did  you  ever  shoot  any  genuine  canvas  back?  Mind 
you,  red  necks  look  a  great  deal  like  canvas  back,  only  they 
are  a  great  deal  smaller,  you  know." 

"  Aw,  yas,"  replied  the  Canadian,  smiling; "  Ah  knows  de 
deeferance  baytween  de  red  neck  and  de  canvas  back.  De 
red  necks,  what  we  calls  cou  rouge  een  French,  wus  kin  of  dock 
vary  common;  mats  de  canvas  back  par  example  was  hard 
to  fine  an  hard  to  shoot,  too." 


u 


BOHDKR  CANUCKS. 


25 


I  of  ducks  down 

on  de  spreeng  an 

It  Nimrod. 

id  snaps  moss  all 

^h  doan  care  nut* 

'snipe  and  plover 
irk  that's  a  funny 
golden  plover  or 
.  ever  flew  I " 
us  not  all  feesh 
'd  vci^sh par  exam- 
teels  moss  all  de 
sayson  we's  got 

enthusiastically, 
sure  enough  can* 

nchman  nodding 

as  back?  Mind 
s  back,  only  they 

r;"  Ah  knows  de 
ianvas  back.  De 
1,  wuskinofdock 
example  was  hard 


"Oh,  yes,  I  suppose  they're  hard  to  shoot,  and  I  know 
they  fetch  a  big  price.  Why,  they  say  they  sometimes  pay 
as  high  as  five  and  even  ten  dollars  a  pair  for  them  in  the 
New  York  market" 

*'  Aw,  no!  ten  doUair  fur  wan  pairs  ov  dock! "  exclaimed 
the  Frenchman  incredulously,  "dat  was  too  moch.  Ah 
guess  you  wus  meestock,  Monsieur." 

"Oh,  no,  I'm  not  mistaken,"  persisted  the  boy,  "I  saw  it 
mentioned  as  a  fact  in  one  of  the  papers." 

"  Well,  maybeso,"  said  Jacques,  doubtingly  shrugging  his 
shoulders;  "Ah  knows  dat  dare  wus  pleutay  reech  folks 
down  on  New  York  mats  ten  dollair  wus  too  much  fur  wan 
pairs  ov  dock!  Why,  mah  fren, "  continued  Jacques  orac- 
ularly, "  lass  fall  Ah  have  feel  moss  lac  a  teef  acose  Ah've 
ax  sich  beeg  prasse  fur  seven  canvas  back  dock  dat  Ah  wus 
lucky  nuff  to  shoot  on  wan  day  I  De  folks  what  keep  de 
Greeswold  House  on  de  ceety  here  have  geeve  me  ten  dol- 
laire  fur  dem  seven  canvas  back  dock  sure's  Ah'm  spoke  to 
you  here  now  I" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  youth  approvingly,  "  I've  no  doubt 
they  did." 

"But  you  know,"  replied  Jacques,  "Ah  have  jews  ax 
dem  ten  dollair  fur  fun  to  start  wit  You  see  dare  wus  two 
tree  udder  mans  dare  what  wus  ankchus  for  got  dem;  an 
soon's  Ah  have  ax  dat  ten  dollair,  de  mans  from  de  hotel 
pool  two  fahve  dollair  beel  hout  of  hees  pockette  an  ban 
dem  to  me  an  goes  off  lac  he  was  varah  mouch  please, "  and 
Mr.  Laforge  smiled  audibly. 

"  Yes,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he  was, "  replied  the  boy. 
"  Why,  I'd  give  anything  I  had  in  the  world  to  kill  a  can- 


,!ilP, 


26 


BOIIDEU  CANUCKS. 


vas  back !  I'd  have  him  stuffed  and  keep  him  as  a  cur- 
iosity,  you  know."  And  confidentially  continuing  he  said: 
*'  You  know  my  father  imported  a  lovely  Westley  Richards 
double  barrel  breech  loader  for  me.  You  ought  to  see  it  I 
She's  a  beauty!  Weighs  only  six  pounds,  is  twenty-six  inches 
in  the  barrels  and  number  ten  gauge;  and  if  mother  didn't 
make  such  a  fuss  every  time  I  go  off  alone  with  it  lest  I 
might  shoot  myself,  I'm  sure  I'd  have  shot  a  canvas  back  by 
this  time  if  there's  one  at  all  to  be  found  in  the  country." 

"  Well,"  said  Jacques,  amused  with  the  boy's  enthusiasm, 
"  Ah'U  toll  you  v^hat  you  goan  do;  geet  yo  faddeur  an  mud- 
deur  t'allow  you  to  come  down  wit  me  on  mah  plasse  an  Ah 
goan  took  good  care  ov  you  an  not  let  you  shoot  yoseff,  an 
we'll  see  eef  dare  was  no  canvas  back  on  de  contray  ou  no  I 
Not  now,  of  course,  acose  dees  was  not  on  de  sayson  fur 
dock;  mais  nex  fall,  you  know," 

"And  will  you  be  sure  to  take  me  with  3'^ou,"  exclaimed 
the  boy  eagerly,  "if  I  get  mother's  consent,  because  father 
does  not  care  how  often  I  go  shooting  now." 

"  Aw,  yas,  fur  sure  Ah  weel ! "  assented  Jacques. 

"  By  Jiminy !  that  will  be  jolly,  won't  it?  And  do  you 
live  in  the  marsh,  sir?" 

"Oh,  no,  "  replied  he  Frenchman  somewhat  disconcerted 
at  the  bear  thoii^^lit  of  his  living  absolutely  in  the  marsh 
like  u  bull  frog  or  a  muskrat.  "Oh,  no,  Ah  dean  leef  right 
een  de  mash,  you  know  mais  jews  long  side  you  know.  De 
mash  ees  on  part  of  mah  farm  which  have  hees  front  part 
on  de  riviere  road  you  know.  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  see  you  don't  live  in  the  marsh  but  just  along 


DOKDEU  CANlCKrf. 


27 


iim  as  a  cur- 
.ling  he  said: 
tley  Richards 
^ht  to  see  it  I 
uty -six  inches 
mother  didn't 
vitli  it  lest  I 
nvas  back  by 
e  country." 
s  enthusiasm, 
deur  an  mud- 
pi  asse  an  Ah 
oot  yoseff,  an 
ontray  ou  no  I 
e  sayson  fur 

"  exclaimed 
jcause  father 

ques. 

And  do  you 

disconcerted 
n  the  marsh 
»an  leef  right 
u  know.  De 
jes  front  part 

ut  just  along 


side  of    it.      That's  jolly!  and  what  is  your  name  pleaso 
sir?" 

"Mahnam/" 

"  Yes.  " 

"  Midi  nam  was  Jean  Jacques  Laforge,  but  moss  of  de 
folks  calls  me  Jock.  " 

"^[r.  Jock  Laforge!  Well  you  know  Mr.  Jock''  con- 
tinued the  lad  confidentially,  "  My  name  is  John  Rathbone, 
but  most  people,  in  fact  everybody  except  father  when  he's 
cross,  calls  me  Jack  and  I'd  far  rather  be  called  Jack  too! 
Jack  Hathbone  doesn't  sound  half  so  stilf  and  unfriendly  as 
John  K'lthbone!  You  know  I'm  the  only  son  of  Mr.  Robert 
Rathbone  the  head  partner  in  this  store.  " 

*' Aw,  an  you  was  de  son  of  Monsieur  Ratbone!  Well, 
Monsieur  Jack,  Ah  was  glad  for  male  acquaint  wit  you" 
and  he  held  out  his  hand  and  greeted  the  senior  partner's 
only  son  with  a  hearty  shake. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  a  French  Canadian,  aren't  you,  Mr. 
Laforge?"  queried  the  boy. 

"  Aw,  yes,  Ah  was  what  you  call  un  Canadien  Francais 
Mah  faddeur'sgran-faddeur  was  wan  of  de  fuss  settleur  on 
dees  riviere.  " 

"Yes,  well  then  he  must  have  known  my  mother's 
grandfather,  because  you  know  he  was  a  French  Canadian 
and  one  of  the  first  settlers  on  Detroit  river  too.  " 

"Yas!  ees  dat  a  fae?  Well,  well!  dat's  sureprise  me. 
What  was  de  nam  of  you  muddeur  beefor  she  have  marry 
wit  yofaddeur?" 

"My  mother's  name  before  she  was  married  ?" 

"Yas,  "  replied  Jack. 


V, 


I.     i, 


28 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"Her  name  was  LaTourneau  —  daughter  of  Mr.  Edward 
La  Tourneau,  who  used  to  keep  store  here  in  the  city  a  long 
time  ago.    He  is  dead  now  you  know.  " 

"  Aw,  yas,  yas,  yas, "  responded  the  Canadian  gradually 
elevating  his  voice,  "she  was  de  datteur  of  Monsieur 
Edwar  La  Tourneau,  de  ole  Merchan  what  have  he  dead 
long  tam  now !  Yas,  Yas,  Ah  remembaire  heem  an  where 
he  was  use  to  keep  store  near  de  markette.  Aw,  well !  she 
was  wan  of  us  peuple  I  she  was  French  Canadien  too,  ain't 
she?" 

"Oh,  yes,  she  is  a  French  Canadian  by  descent,  you 
know,  "  assented  the  lad  doubtfully. 

"  Ho,  O,  Ho,  0, "  replied  Jock  musingly,  "  Ah  nevaire 
know  dat  beefore  I  Madame  Ratbone  was  French  Canadien 
too  ay  ?" 

"  By  decent  you  know, "  interpolated  the  youth  with 
young  American  pride  and  remonstrance. 

"  Bah  deescen!"  enquired  Jock  as  if  in  a  quandary,  "bah, 
deescen  1  what's  mean  dat  Monsieur  Jack  ?" 

"  Coming  down  you  know, "  explained  the  boy.  "  Coming 
down  —  descending  you  know.  " 

"  Comin  down  from  de  French  Canadien  I"  exclaimed 
Jock  laughingly.  "  Well  Ah  coo'n't  see  how  she's  come 
down  I  Moss  of  us  Canadien  Francais  was  pore  lac  de 
tuckey  of  Job  an  she  was  reech  lac  Preencess  1  Ah  guess 
she  mus  have  come  up  from  us  French  Canadiens !  She's 
not  come  down  dat's  sure  thing  1  ha,  ha,  ha  I  "  and  he  laughed 
again  at  his  own  joke. 

"  Well, "  said  the  senior  partner's  heir  as  if  to  finally  dis- 
pose of  the  question  of  whether  his  mother  came  up  or 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


29 


came  down  from  the  French  Canadian  race,  "she  can  talk 
French  any  way. " 

"Aw  yas, "  assented  the  Canadian  approvingly,  "Ah 
suepose  so !  All  ov  us  Canadien  ken  talk  French  you  know ! 
Dat  wus  hour  laungage. " 

"  Yes  and  you  can  ask  her  in  French  to  let  me  go  shoot- 
ing with  you,  can't  you  Mr.  Jock  ?"  queried  the  youth 
eagerly. 

"  Ah,  yas,  Ah  suepose  Ah  could  do  dat, "  assented  Jock 
doubtfully. 

"And  I  know  she'd  let  me  go  if  you  asked  her  in  French 
Mr.  Jock,  "  exclainied  the  boy  with  enthusiasm. 

"  May  be  so,  may  be  so, "  abstractedly  observed  Jock 
awed  by  the  contemplation  of  interviewing  so  grand  a  lady 
as  the  rich  Mrs.  Rathbone  must  be.  "  May  be  so.  " 

"  By  Jimminy  I"  exclaimed  the  lad  demonstratively 
striking  the  side  of  his  right  leg  with  his  riding  whip,  "  if  I 
had  only  driven  down  in  my  pony  cart  this  morning 
instead  of  riding  dcwn  on  horseback,  I  should  have 
driven  you  up  to  tha  house  right  off  now  and  intro- 
duced you  to  mother,  i  know  she'd  be  awfully  glad  to  see 
you  Mr.  Jock.  ' 

"Aw,  no,  ua,  some  udder  tam,  some  udder  tam, "  ner- 
vously responded  Jock. 

"  Some  other  time,  "  repeated  the  boy,  "  when  will  that 
be  ?  how  long  will  it  be  before  the  duck  shooting  season 
commences  ?" 

"  Bout  tree  mons  from  de  present  tam.  " 

"That  will  be  about ib<»  1st  of  September,  won't  it,  Mr. 
Laforge?" 


»  ■'*~2>5«*Sii 


80 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


*' Yas,  dat's  when  she's  beegin  de  sayson.  " 

"  Well  now,  "  said  the  lad  starting  up,  "  I  must  go  and 
deliver  a  message  to  father.  So  I'll  say  good-by  for  the 
present,  sir,'*  extending  his  hand  to  the  Canadian.  "But 
you  mustn't  forget  your  promise  to  take  me  shooting  with 
you,  you  know,  Mr.  Laforge.  " 

"  Oh  no,  Ah  not  goan  to  forgeet  dat  I  You  need  not  be 
scare  of  dat !  Ah  goan  come  an  got  you, "  said  Jock 
shaking  hands  with  the  boy. 

"Mind,  "  said  the  lad  smilingly  as  he  retreated  backwards 
towards  the  inner  office.  "I'll  be  on  the  lookout  for  you 
here  at  the  store  from  the  1st  of  September  right  on  every 
day  until  you  put  in  an  appearance.  Mind  you  that  Mr. 
Laforge,  "  and  he  playfully  shook  his  finger  at  Jock  as  he 
turned  to  face  the  entrance  to  the  counting  room. 

"  All  raght  Monsieur  Jack  I  all  raght !  Ah  goan  be  here 
some  tam  bout  de  fuss  week  on  Septambaire  eef  Ah  leef  at 
dat  tam,  sure  ting !" 

And  so  in  due  course  when  the  first  week  in  September 
came  about  Jacques  put  in  an  appearance  at  the  store  where 
he  found  that  Master  Eathbone  had  been  patiently  awaiting 
him  for  several  hours  each  day  for  several  days  previous  to 
his  coming. 

After  much  persuasion  the  enthusiastic  young  sports- 
man induced  the  shy  Canadian  to  drive  up  with  him  to  the 
Eathbone  mansion  where  in  much  trepidation  and  awe  of  the 
luxurious  surroundings,  he  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Eath- 
bone, mere. 

She  was  a  petite  brunette,  slightly  on  the  shady  side  of 
forty,  with  an  easy  grace  and  pretty  little  Frenchy  manner, 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


81 


aust  go  and 
-by  for  the 
ian.  "  But 
noting  witli 

need  not  be 
'  said  Jock 

i  backwards 
jout  for  you 
;lit  on  every 
3u  that  Mr. 
Jock  as  he 
n. 

roan  be  here 
Ah  leef  at 

September 

store  -where 

tly  awaiting 

previous  to 

lung  sports- 
1  him  to  the 
d  awe  of  the 
Mrs.  Ratli- 

lady  side  of 
chy  manner, 


and  not  yet  bereft  of  charms  which  twenty  years  previously 
must  have  made  her  very  attractive. 

She  talked  French  in  a  charmingly  familiar  way  to 
Jacques;  questioned  him  interestedly  about  his  family  and 
talked  so  affectionately,  not  to  say  confidentially,  about  her 
only  son  and  two  daughters  that  the  owner  of  Mushrat 
farm  was  amazed  to  find  how  comfortable  and  at  his  ease  he 
felt.  She  made  him  take  a  glass  of  wine  and  wanted  to 
know  whether  aftei  his  long  drive  he  didn't  feel  hungry;  if 
so,  she  would  have  him  something  to  eat  gotten  at  once;  but 
all  these  proffers  of  hospitality  he  politely  and  gratefully 
declined. 

After  repeated  stipulations  as  to  the  safety  of  her  mani- 
festly idolized  boy  she  consented  to  allow  him  to  accompany 
Jacques  back  to  his  home  on  the  Riviere  Canard  for  two  or 
three  days'  shooting,  and  although  from  this  expedition  there 
was  not  evolved  any  canvass  back  ducks,  howbeit  it  estab- 
lished an  acquaintance  which  had  ripened  into  a  genuinely 
sincere  and  earnest  friendship  between  the  simple-minded 
habitant  hunter  and  the  prococious  city  youth  at  the  outset 
of  the  period  of  this  veracious  history. 

Meanwhile  little  Marie,  though  a  confirmed  cripple,  had 
sufficiently  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  accident,  which 
befell  her  in  the  partially  rescued  mursh  field,  in  the  gloam- 
ing of  that  lowering  April  evening,  to  use  her  still  baby-like 
fingers  in  the  profitable  braiding  of  straw  for  the  firm  of 
Rathbone  k  Ritter. 

The  child  seemed  inspired  with  a  preternatural  industry 
and  imbued  with  an  eager  desire  to  make  her  crippled  con- 
dition as  little  burdensome  to  her  parents  as  possible. 


jiSk-fmn 


82 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


While  the  fifteen  acre  field  itself,  as  if  blighted  by  her 
father's  malediction,  notwithstanding  all  the  tedious  labor  it 
had  cost  its  owner,  soon  reverted  back  to  its  original  condi- 
tion— the  blighting  sway  of  stagnant,  verdant  marsh  waters 
and  the  dead  and  dying  things  therein  contained. 

Thus  the  partere  of  Monsieur  Jacques  Laforge  on  the  con- 
fines of  the  Riviere  Canard  marsh  was  inevitably  relegated 
back  to  its  seven  or  eight  acres  of  cultivable  area,  and 
therel- le,  confirmed  in  the  possession  of  its  amphibious 
sobriqo.oi  o*  "  Mushrat  Farm." 


CHAPTER  IV, 

A  Delightful  Place  to  Live  and  Keep  House  in.— A  Mixed  Marriage. 

'TXT'ITH  ITS  vast  frontage  upon  St.  Lawrence's  mighty 
waterway  to  the  sea  (at  that  point  upon  it  which 
has  been  aptly  called  the  Bospherous  of  America)  its  wide 
and  cleanly  streets,  its  imposing  public  buildings  and  busi- 
ness blocks,  its  luxuriously  artistic  villas,  its  island  park 
and  its  ornate  environs  generally,  how  beautiful  a  city  is 
Detroit,  the  metropolis  of  the  state  of  Michigan  ! 

Given  the  wherewithal  to  do  so,  surely  no  city  on  this 
continent,  or,  for  that  matter,  any  other  continent,  oflerssur- 
roundings  more  agreeably  propitious  to  sojourn  in  or  "live 
and  keep  house  in"  in  these  utilitarian  days,  than  does  the 
City  of  the  Straits. 

Albeit  the  citizen  of  enquiring  mind  or  the  student  of 
topography  must  perforce  climb  to  the  summit  of  that  pre- 
ternatural promintory,  the  city  hall  tower,  to  get  his  bearings 
or  accurately  understand  on  what  particular  point  on  God's 
footstool  he  lives  and  has  his  being — when  he  does  attain 
to  that  inevitable  municipal  apex  he  is  well  repaid  for  his 
pains. 

From  this  elevated  point  of  observation  on  a  clear  day  he 
discovers  that  he  is  in  the  center  of  a  huge  cycloramma  of 
flood  and  field  with  magnificent  monuments  of  labor,  and 
every  other  evidence  of  busy  life  and  industry  in  the  fore- 

(33) 


mw-ntiHAH 


84 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


ground,  while  the  azure  tinted  horizon  on  all  sides  forms 
the  background  to  one  of  nature  and  art's  imposing  pictures 
of  a  valley  of  plenty. 

During  the  season  of  navigation  the  majestic  river  presents 
an  ever  shifting  scene  of  activity  in  its  moving  craft  of  every 
description,  from  the  graceful  pleasure  yacht  and  midget 
sail  boat  to  the  grandly  dignified  grain  or  ore  laden  steam- 
ship as  she  glides  upon  her  devious  way  down  the  current 
of  the  mighty  river  towards  the  sea,  to  return  with  coal  or 
'merchandise  for  the  dwellers  in  the  great  Northwest. 

Stretching  out  from  amidst  the  miles  of  wharves,  ware- 
houses and  manufactories  along  the  border  of  the  river, 
acio3^  the  imposing  paralell  thoroughfares,  the  broad  well 
built  streets  like  so  many  life-giving  arteries  in  a  healthful 
human  body  radiate  and  ramify  to  the  north  and  west 
across  a  net  work  of  centering  railways  until  they  lose 
themselves  in  green  fields  and  variegated  gardens  in  the 
remote  outskirts  of  the  model  city. 

Across  the  river  in  the  Queen's  dominions,  less  than  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  away,  is  the  thriving  town  of  Windsor 
over  which  the  eye  sweeps  southward  across  the  well-tilled 
fields  and  verdant  pastures  of  the  thickly  populated  penin- 
sular which  constitutes  the  southernmost  land's  end  of 
Canada  and  which  buries  its  pedal-like  prow  in  the  purply 
haze  of  Lake  Erie's  cloud  kissed  waters  in  the  far  distant 
blue  horizen. 

To  Detroit  is  accredited  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  "be  the 
same  more  or  less,"  while  Windsor  slowly    but  surelv 


BORDER  CAXrCKS. 


So 


all  sides  forms 
iposing  pictures 

ic  river  presents 
ng  craft  of  every 
tclit  and  midget 
Dre  laden  steam- 
own  the  current 
irn  with  coal  or 
[orthwest. 
:  wharves,  ware- 
ler  of  the  river, 
3,  the  broad  well 
•ies  in  a  healthful 
north  and   west 
3  until  they  lose 
i  gardens  in  the 

ns,  less  than  three 
own  of  Windsor 
OSS  the  well-tilled 

populated  penin- 
3st  land's  end  of 
row  in  the  purply 

in  the  far  distant 

the  neighborhood] 
ihabitants,  "be  tlie 
lowly    but  surely 


struggles  on  with  considerably  less  than  one  twentieth  that 
number. 

Why  this  difference  should  exist  is  not  within  the 
province  of  this  humble  pencil  at  this  time  to  attempt  to 
elaborate.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  does  exist  and  that  very 
much  the  same  disparit}'  in  favor  of  the  American  side  is 
observable  wherever  towns  and  cities  have  grown  up 
opposite  each  other  throughout  the  long  drawn  out  proxi- 
mate borders  of  the  two  countries. 

As  a  natural  sequence  to  this  state  of  things  the  prices  of 
land  in  these  localities  are  respectively  proportionately  the 
same,  and  it  has  been  said  that  much  of  the  annexation 
feeling  which  exists  along  the  Canadian  frontier  is  aseribe- 
able  to  an  utilitarian  setting  aside  of  all  sentiment  of  loyalty 
to  British  rule  in  favor  of  a  worship  of  Mammon  and  a 
hankering  for  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt. 

It  may  safely  be  assumed  however,  that  the  existence  of 
this  feeling  to  any  noticeable  extent  is  largely  confined  to 
the  speculative  land  owner,  and  general  public  opinion 
would  have  to  undergo  a  radical  change  from  its  present 
condition  upon  the  subjecterean  amicable  union  of  the  two 
countries  of  any  sort  could  be  brought  within  the  range  of 
near  probability. 

However  this  may  be,  if  Detroit  be  the  great  and  grow- 
ing metropolis  it  is  at  the  present  writing,  it  was  but  little 
better  than  a  village  hamlet  by  comparison  when  in  the 
autumn  of  1837  Robert  Rathbone,  Jack's  father,  found  his 
^  way  thither  from  Plymouth,  England,  in  search  of  fortune. 
■  He  landed  in  the  incipient  city  at  a  time  when  it  was 
I  being  made  to  some  extent  the  base  of  operations  of  the 


I{  i 'I'  jllllll 

Mil 


86 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


so-called  "patriots"  in  the  prosecution  of  their  war  upon  Brit- 
ish rule  in  Canada,  under  the  leadership  of  that  advanced 
thinker  and  statesman,  not  to  say  benefactor  to  his  country, 
the  late  William  Lyon  Mackenzie. 

Finding  the  town  in  an  abnormal  state  of  excitement 
growing  out  of  its  position  as  the  seat  of  this  filibustering 
warfare  with  a  corresponding  liveliness  in  its  business  circles, 
Mr.  Rathbone,  unmarried,  with  a  good  address  and  a  fair 
knowledge  of  book-keeping,  found  no  difficulty  in  securing  a 
situation  as  clerk  and  man  of  all  work  in  a  leading  general 
store  doing  a  large  business  in  the  furnishing  of  supplies  to* 
traders  and  trappers  along  the  chain  of  upper  lakes,  for 
which  furs  and  fish  were  received  in  exchange. 

Continuing  in  this  employ  for  some  half  dozen  years  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  this  frugal  and  methodical 
young  Englishman  became  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
general  trade  of  the  locality  and  especially  au  fait  in  the 
sorting  and  selection  of  furs  of  every  description. 

This  expert  knowledge  he  was  in  due  course  enabled  to 
put  to  his  own  permanently  profitable  use ;  for,  in  common 
with  a  very  large  proportion  of  native  born  middle  class 
Englishmen  who  find  their  way  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic, 
Mr.  Rathbone  had  expectations  which  were  shortly  to  be 
realized. 

The  death  of  an  ancient  maiden  aunt  soon  placed  him  in 
possession  of  a  thousand  pounds,  and  with  this  capital  added 
to  his  own  savings  he  was  enabled  to  start  business  on  his 
own  account  on  a  very  respectable  basis. 

Taking  into  partnership  with  him  George  Ritter,  a  prac- 
tical German  furrier,  he  opened  an  establishment  in  modest 


■) 


BORDEK  CANUCKS. 


87 


jM'emises  on  one  of  the  then  chief  thoroughfares  of  the  little 
city,  and  thus  was  founded,  upon  what  time  has  proved  an 
enduring  basis,  the  important  and  now  wealthy  firm  of  Rath- 
bone  &  Ritter,  wholesale  and  retail  dealers  in  furs,  hats,  caps 
and  straw-braid  goods. 

Having  successfully  launched  this  business  firm,  the  sen- 
ior member  thereof  bethought  him  that  a  matrimonial  part- 
nership would  now  be  in  order,  and  casting  about  him  for 
the  desired  partner  he  picked  upon  Miss  Emily  La  Tourneau, 
the  daughter  of  a  merchant  doing  business  in  a  small  way 
in  the  city. 

The  course  of  true  love  in  this  instance  was  unproverb- 
ially  smooth. 

Everything  was  propitious  and  plain,  and  prosaic  sailing 
the  order  of  the  day, 

Mr.  Robert  Rathbone,  aged  thirty-two,  unmistakably  good- 
looking,  of  steady  habits  and  the  head  of  a  prosperous  bus- 
iness house,  wanted  a  wife. 

Miss  Emily  La  Tourneau,  a  maiden  fair,  aged  twenty-four, 
if  not  absolutely  heart  whole  or  fancy  free,  for  certain 
specious  reasons,  at  all  events  just  at  this  time,  prepared  to 
accept  the  first  proffer  of  an  eligible  husband. 

They  met ! 

They  exchanged  assurances  of  mutual  love  and  admiration! 

They  became  engaged  in  the  respectable  conventional 
fashion  of  the  time. 

They  married,  and  viola  ce  tout! 

It  was  not  altogether  what  is  generally  accepted  as  an  une 
mairriage  de  convenance,  but  it  was  what  may  be  called  a  first 
cousin  to  it. 


88 


BORDEIl  CANUCKS. 


m 


It  was  a  mixed  marriage. 

He  was  a  laissezfaire  sort  of  Church  of  England  Protest- 
ant, while  she  was  an  actively  observant  Catholic. 

But  then  that  did  not  matter. 

These  kind  of  alliances,  because  of  the  denominational 
peculiarities  of  the  early  French  settlers  along  the  Detroit 
river,  were  of  common  occurrence  on  both  sides  of  the  bor- 
der in  these  early  days. 

Nor  did  the  religious  discrepancy  in  these  matrimonial 
partnerships  confine  itself  to  their  senior  members — the 
father  and  mother. 

It  was  hnnded  down  to  the  sons  and  daughters — it  being 
the  commonly  accepted  custom  that  the  former  should  fol- 
low their  father  to  his  Protestant  church,  while  the  girls 
were  trained  up  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  of  their  mother. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  two  daughters  of  Robert  and 
Emily  Rathbone  were  Catholics,  while  their  only  son,  owing 
to  the  indifferentism  and  religious  lapses  of  his  paternal  par- 
ent, was  practically  like  the  sinner  who  slipped  between  two 
chairs. 

The  boy  was  made  to  go  to  church  every  Sunday,  too 
frequently  of  late  without  his  father's  escort,  and  beyond  this 
outward  observance,  from  a  psycological  point  of  view,  he 
had  been  allowed  to  grow  up  after  the  manner  of  Topsy. 

As  to  his  secular  education,  he  was  not  so  far  behind  though 
not  by  any  means  all  that  he  ought  to  have  been  and  prob- 
ably would  have  been  had  he  been  the  offspring  of  parents 
professing  one  common  faith.  He  had  passed  creditably 
through  the  public  school  of  the  city,  and  for  the  previous 
two  years  to  the  opening  of  this  story,  in  a  perfunctory  sort 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


89 


of  way  had  attended  the  class  of  a  private  tutor,  one  Mr. 
Hamilton,  a  pedagogue  of  the  Dominie  Sampson  type. 

Master  Rathbone  was  a  tall,  robust  and  muscular,  brown 
eyed  and  light  haired  youth,  with  good  features  and  a  firm 
set  mouth,  looking  more  like  a  young  man  of  twenty  than 
a  boy  of  eighteen  as  he  actually  was  when  first  introduced 
to  the  reader. 

He  was  athletically  inclined,  a  patron  of  the  gymnasium 
and  a  votary  of  any  game  or  contest  in  which  there  was 
any  genuine  sport. 

Under  Jacques  Laforge's  tuition  he  had  become  an  expert 
with  the  gun,  and  incidentally  to  his  frequent  expeditions  to 
the  Riviere  Canard  had  gotten  to  be  passionately  fond  of 
witnessing  the  grotesque  trotting  and  pacing  races  frequently 
held  among  the  French  in  that  neighborhood  and  other 
localities  up  and  down  the  shores  of  lake  and  river. 

In  the  winter  months  it  was  very  rarely  that  a  French 
race  took  place  on  the  river  Rouge  below  the  city  or  any- 
where within  hailing  distance  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
main  river  that  Jack  Rathbone  and  his  grey  pony  were  not 
found  among  the  crowd  attending  the  same. 

He  knew  the  style  of  gait  and  had  a  pretty  fair  know- 
ledge of  the  speed  capacity  of  almost  every  reputedly  fast 
French  pony  for  miles  around  the  beautiful  city  of  the 
Straits  —  the  home  of  his  nativity.  " 


A 


m 


CHAPTER  V. 


A  Brush  for  the  Lead. 


"VTT"ITH  Peter  Bertrand,  of   Belle  River,   owner    of  a 

'  *  speedy  cliestnut  pacing  pony,  Jack  Rathbone  was 
on  eapecially  intimate  terms. 

Peter  was  a  native  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  from 
whence  he  had  been  imported  years  ago  by  a  "jobber" 
in  square  timber  for  whom  he  had  worked  in  the  getting  out 
of  oak  and  black  walnut  along  the  Cauudian  shore  for  the 
Quebec  market. 

In  this  employment  Mons.  Bertrand  had  saved  sufficient  to 
purchase  a  farm  near  to  the  village  of  Belle  River  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  St.  Clair,  some  eisjrhteen  miles  east  of  Detroit 
on  the  Canadian  side,  and  on  this  he  now  lived  with  his 
family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  a  numerous  tribe  of 
progeny. 

Of  late  years  he  had  had  frequent  dealings  with  the  firm  of 
Rathbone  &  Ritter  in  the  article  of  straw  braid  of  which  he 
not  only  sold  them  all  produced  by  his  own  household  but 
also  bought  on  commission  for  them  all  he  could  contrive 
to  pick  up  from  among  his  neighbors. 

In  this  way  Monsieur  Bertrand  had  gotten  to  be  well 
known  to  the  firm  and  its  employes,  and  incidentally  had 
established  a  friendship  with  the  sportive  only  son  of  the 
senior  partner,  whom  he  had  first  met  at  the  store,  and  sub- 

(41) 


->  ^^'f 


ly.i'!! 


■"11 


II  pi 

i  liiill 


!i  I   I 


42 


BORDER   CAXUCKS. 


sequently  at  frequent  habitant  horse  races  on  tlie  Canadian 
side. 

Peter  was  a  tall  man,  and  as  straight  as  the  proverbial 
arrow,  slightly  pock-marked,  with  pleasing  grey  eyes  and 
good  features. 

He  wore  a  well  trimmed  moustache  which  blended  into  a 
pair  of  cheek  whiskers,  giving  him  a  not  unmilitary  or  un- 
martial  like  appearance. 

Being  about  fifty-five  years  of  age,  his  brown  hair  was 
somewhat  streaked  with  grey.  In  the  winter  he  usually 
wore  a  plucked  otter  cap  with  a  peak,  and  a  long,  ulster 
overcoat  of  home-made  cloth,  which  was  encircled  about  the 
middle  with  the  inevitable  habitant  red  sash. 

Monsieur  Bertrand  was  one  of  a  kind  commonly  met  with 
among  the  French  Canadians,  who,  notwithstanding  his  con- 
stant intercourse  with  English  speaking  people,  never  con- 
trived to  learn  to  speak  the  language  fluently. 

"When  he  did  speak  it,  as  of  course  he  was  constantly 
obliged  to  do,  he  did  so  with  a  very  marked  accent  in  a 
deliberate,  jerky  style  of  utterance,  and  in  total  ignorance  of 
the  complex  letters  th^  that  great  stumbling  block  to  the 
French  Canadian  learner  of  the  Queen's  English. 

During  the  week  following  the  Christmas  holidays, 
immediately  preceding  the  opening  of  this  narrative,  M. 
Peter  Bertrand  had  business  at  the  store  of  Rathbone  & 
Ritter,  and  on  that  occasion  met  Jack  Rathbone,  who 
happened  to  come  in  while  he  was  there. 

"  Hello,  Monsieur  Rathbone, "  cried  Peter  with  out- 
stretched right  hand,  '*  glad  to  see  you  I  Ah  wus  jews  ax  de 
folks  here  where  you  wus.  " 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


43 


"Ah,  Mr.  Bertrand,  how  de  do,"  replied  Jack,  shaking 
hands  cordially.  He  always  called  Peter  Mr.  Bertrand  when 
he  chanced  to  meet  him  in  the  store.  That  was  Peter's 
dress  parade  name,  as  it  were.  A  way  from  the  store,  their 
friendship  and  Peter's  guilelessness  of  manner  seemed  to 
warrant  Jack's  addressing  him  by  his  Christian  name — and 
Peter  it  usually  was,  notwithstanding  the  disparity  'twist 
their  respective  years. 

"  Ah  hopes  you  wus  goan  anjye  many  'appay  ray  turn 
ov  de  sayson  Monsieur  Jack, "  said  Peter  with  hearty 
deliberation. 

"  Thank  you,  Mr.  Bertrand, "  responded  Jack  equally 
heartily.  "I  hope  that  you'll  live  to  see  many,  many 
happy  returns  of  the  New  Year.  " 

"  Aw  well,  fur  me  you  see  Ah  can't  espec  fur  have 
mouch  more  year  you  know,  mats  so  long  as  Ah  kin  Ah  was 
goan  have  good  tarn.  '* 

"  Certainly,  that's  right  I  As  big,  and  fine,  and  healthy  a 
looking  man  as  you  are  ought  to  have  a  great  many  happy 
years  in  store  for  him  yet  More  particularly  as  you  seem 
to  take  so  much  pleasure  out  of  life.  By  the  way,  talking 
of  pleasure,  how  is  your  chestnut  colt  getting  on  this 
winter?" 

"  Come  over  dees  way  wit  me, "  said  Peter  in  a  mysterious 
stage  whisper,  and  they  went  up  to  the  far  end  of  the  long 
store  ajid  leaned  up  against  the  end  of  the  counter.  " 

"  Ah'll  toll  you  Monsieur  Jack,  "  mysteriously  whispered 
Peter,  "Dat  leetle  chesnut  colt  wus  flyeur!  Ah'll  toll  you, 
mah  fren,  he  was  flyeur  I  Sure  ting  he  was  flyeur  I" 


44 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


!i 


"  Yes, "  responded  the  youth  smilingly,  "  I'm  glad  to  hear 
that.  He  was  very  speedy  wlien  I  saw  him  up  at  the  track 
last  fall,  and  I  suppose  he  has  improved  very  much  on  the 
ice  this  winter.  " 

"You  jews  bet  yo  laf  he  haveamprove  dees  wintaire, " 
replied  Peter  with  frequent  slow  and  de]  x-ate  nods  of  his 
jockey  looking  cap.  "  Ah  guess  he  muss  be  all  ov  tirtay 
seconde  fasser  now  on  de  hice  dan  he  have  be  when  you 
have  see  heem  up  at  de  track  lass  fall.  " 

"  Indeed  1  Well,  I  thought  he  moved  like  a  future  fast 
one  then,  and  I'm  glad  to  know  that  I  was  not  mistaken. " 

"  Nosirree,  you  was  not  meestook,  Monsieur  Jack,  "  slowly 
articulated  Peter  with  the  same,  slow  confirmatory  nods 
of  his  head.  "  He  wus  llyeur,  Ah'll  toll  you  he  was  flyeurl " 
And  after  a  short,  ratifying  pause  of  silence  during  which, 
with  closely  compressed  lips,  he  gazed  down  into  the  eyes  of 
his  young  companion  in  solemn  seriousness,  lowering  his 
voice  still  more  as  he  edged  up  towards  Jack,  he  asked 
"  Deed  you  hear  bout  de  race  Ah  was  goan  have  wit  de  ole 
'Crapaud '  of  de  Widday  Martin?" 

"  No,  when  is  it  to  come  off  ?"  queried  Jack  in  surprise. 

"  Two  week  from  nex  Sateurday,  "  whispered  Peter. 

"  Two  weeks  from  next  Saturday  I  whereabouts  ?" 

"  On  de  hice  on  de  lac  shore  oposight  wheres  de  widday, 
she's  keep  tavern  you  know,  "  this  very  much  soto  voce, 

"  Why  that  must  be  near  the  mouth  of  Belle  river  then. " 

"  Yes,  dat's  de  plasse,  "  assented  Peter,  "  jews  wheres  de 
Belle  Riviere  pass  on  de  lac  you  know. " 

"  Well,  but  surely, "  observed  Jack,  "your  colt  must  have 
improved  very  much  to  justify  you  in  tackling  Crapaud.  " 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


45 


I  glad  to  hear 

p  at  the  track 

much  on  the 

es  wintaire, " 
e  nods  of  his 
!  all  ov  tirtay 
be  when  you 

)  a  future  fast 
mistaken. " 
Tack, "  slowly 
rmatory  nods 
e  was  flvsur! " 
iluring  which, 
ito  the  eyes  of 
lowering  his 
ack,  he  asked 
ave  wit  de  ole 

ik  in  surprise, 
■ed  Peter. 

)OUtS?" 

res  de  widday, 
I  soto  voce. 
ile  river  then. " 
!ws  wheres  de 

3olt  must  have 
iiig  Crapaud.  " 


■M 


"  Amprove  I  You  bet  yo  laf  he  have  amprove  I  Ah  nevaire 
see  no  kine  ov  horse  amprove  so  fass  in  mah  laf  beefore, " 
and  Mr.  Bertrand,  with  compressed  lips,  again  gazed  down 
into  Jack's  eyes  in  serious  and  impressive  silence,  which 
after  a  pause  of  an  instant  was  broken  by  the  latters  say- 
ing: "  Well  of  course  you  know  Peter  that  you  have  my 
best  wishes  and  I  hope  with  all  my  heart  that  you'll  win 
the  race,  but  Crapaud  has  a  big  reputation,  and  I  have  seen 
him  win  several  very  fust  heats.  " 

"Aw  yes,"  said  Peter,  with  repeated  nods  of  assent, 
"Ah  knows  all  dat.  Ah  wus  parfeclay  well  acquaint  wit 
dat.  Ah  knows  dat  de  ole  Crapaud  liees  carry  de  broom 
now,  viais  you  see  eef  dat  leetle  cliesnut  doan  geeve 
heera  pooty  tuff  poole  fur  dat  broom  two  week  from  nex 
Sateurday.  " 

"  Well  I  sincerely  hope  so, "  said  Jack  doubtfully,  "  but 
how  did  you  come  to  make  the  match?" 

"Well  you  see  eet  wus  jews  lack  dees, "  replied  Peter 
taking  off  his  skull  cap  and  wiping  his  neck  and  low  broad 
forehead  with  a  red  bandanna  })ocket  handkerchief,  "on  de 
day  beefore  New  Year,  what  you  call  New  Year  Eve,  Ah 
wus  come  down  to  de  town  fur  bah  sum  hoison  an  udder 
freslirnent  lac  dat  fur  New  Year  (iixy.  You  koow  dat  wus 
beeg  day  mongst  us  French  folks.  " 

"Yes,"  assented  Jack,  "and  I  like  your  jolly,  old 
fashioned  way  of  celebrating  it  too.  " 

"  Well  you  see.  Ah  have  see  de  Widday  Martin  on  de 
street  on  Winsorr. 

"  She  wus  foot,  and  I  wus  foot  too,  cos  Ah  have  put  mah 
ponay  on  de  barn,  an  Ah  bow  to  heur  an  she's  bow  to  me 


46 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


verrah  polite,  lac  she's  always  do,  an  All  nevaire  taught 
nutting  more  bout  de  widday . 

"  An  so  pootay  soon  Ah  have  feeneesh  all  mah  beesness  on 
de  town,  got  all  mah  grocaray,  an  boison,  an  all  what  Ah  wants, 
an  den  Ah  wus  to  heetch  up  an  start  fur  home  slowlay ,  cos  Ali 
wusdrav  deleetlechesnutan  I  don't  want  pooshheem  cos  de 
road  wus  not  verrah  good  nigh  de  town,  "  here  Mr.  Bertraml 
paused  while  he  replaced  his  otter  cap  upon  his  head,  and 
restored  the  red  bandanna  to  its  wonted  pocket.  Then,  in 
detached  sentences  with  a  slight  pause  between  each  he  con- 
tinued, "  Well  jews  as  Ah  have  reech  de  udder  end  of  de 
Grande  Cote,  dees  side  of  de  mout  of  Petite  Riviere,  Ah 
■wus  to  take  de  hice,  cos  she's  fuss  class  from  dure  long  de 
lac  shore  to  wheres  Ah  leev. 

"Jews  as  Ah  wus  to  turn  fur  took  de  hice,  Ah  heerd  some 
bell  behine  me  an  Ah  looks  'roun,  an  dare  wus  de  Widda}- 
Martin  all  bah  she's  self  lone,  dravin  de  ole  Crapaud  on  de 
cutteur. 

"'Hallo  Pierrol'  she's  call  hout  to  me,  (een  French  of 
course,  you  know). 

" '  Ah  wus  hope  Ah  was  goan  kotch  you. '  she  say. 

" '  All  raght  Meeses  Ah  say  '  Eet  wus  heasy  ting  fur  kotch 
me  Ah  guess. ' 

"  *  No, '  she  say,  '  dey  tells  me  dat  colt  of  yourn  wus 
am  prove  verrah  fass  latelay.  ' 

"  '  Well, '  Ah  say,  *  prhaps  he  have  amprove  leetle  beet, 
onais  Ah  doan  know, '  an  Ah  wus  to  shuv  hup  mah  shouleur 
lac  dat  you  know  as  eef  I  wus  een  doubt  bout  dat  1 

" '  Hole  on, '  she's  cree  hout,  '  Ah  goan  geeve  you  brush 
prcseutlay. ' 


i  i 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


47 


aire  taught 

beesness  on 
it  Ah  wants, 
?lay,cosAli 
heem  cosde 
Ir.  Bertram! 
3  head,  and 
;.  Then,  in 
each  he  con- 
!r  end  of  de 
Riviere,  Ah 
lure  long  de 

I  heerd  some 

de  Widday 

apaud  on  de 

1  French  of 

esay. 

iig  fur  kotch 

yourn  wus 

e  leetle  beet, 

nah  shouleur 

datl 

;^e  you  brush 


" '  Oh '  Ah  say,  '  you  goan  brush  bah  me  whenevaire  you 
wus  mine  to  Ah  guess. ' 

"  Mais  she's  doan  say  nutting  more^  an  pootay  soon  we  wus 
to  strike  de  good  hice  an  den  she's  come  up  long  side  an 
challenge  me  fur  brush  wit  heur. 

" '  Well  all  raght, '  Ah  say,  '  Ah  goan  see  eef  Ah  kin  keep 
hanywares  nigh  you. ' 

" '  You  start  fuss  Madame, '  Ah  say,  an  Ah  have  poole  out 
to  geeve  heur  de  bess  track,  what  Ah  was  occoopy  up  to  dat 
tarn. 

**  That  was  being  properly  polite  to  a  lady,  "  interpolated 
Jack. 

"  Ah  yas,  Ah  hopes  Ah  nevaire  wus  goan  forgot  mah 
poleettess  to  de  layday,  you  know. 

"Well,  when  Ah've  offaire  de  widday  de  bess  track  an 
poole  bout  fur  let  heur  come  hup  long  side  me,  she  say, 
*  Aw  nevaire  mine  fur  de  track,  Ah  goan  took  dat  aftaire 
awhile.. ' 

"  'Jews  as  you  wus  a  mine  to  Madame,'  Ah  say,  an  Ah  bows 
to  heur  varrah  police, '  eef  you  doan  want  took  de  good  track 
all  raght,  Ah  goan  keep  eet  meseff, '  an  at  same  tam  Ah  wus 
say  to  mesefif,  '  Now  mah  good  widday  womans  eef  you  tink 
you  wus  goan  took  dees  track  from  me  hany  tam  you  wus 
mine  to,  eef  deesponay  what  Ah  have  got  on  dees  cutteur 
was  jews  as  fassas  Ah  tink  he  wus  to-day.  Ah  bleeve  you 
wus  goan  be  pootay  raoach  meestook,  Madame  ! 

"  An  so  we  wus  to  start. 

"Aw  well,  at  de  fust  ov  eet  mah  pony  was  ancline  fur  ace 
a  leetle  bad. 


ililf:; 


48 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"  You  see  he  wus  feelin  pootay  good  an  he  wus  pinted 
tourds  home,  you  know,  an  he  wus  want  to  go  too  fass  fur 
hees  foots,  so  Ah  have  pootay  hard  tarn  fur  hole  heem  down 
to  hees  work  fur  de  fuss  half  mile,  an  de  ole  womans  she's 
gain  on  me  leetle  beet. 

"  Mais  afteur  dat  Ah  have  got  mah  leetle  feller  down  to 
hees  work,  an  den  de  fun's  begeen !  > 

"Ah  well,  de  widday  she's  baycome  excite  now.  Ah'll 
toll  you  she  was  excite  I"  and  Mr.  Bertrand  looking  down 
at  the  floor  here  paused  for  an  instant  to  emphasize  the 
widow's  excitement  on  the  occasion  by  silently  and  slowly 
nodding  his  head  repeatedly  with  compressed,  firm  set 
lips. 

" Presentlay,  "  continued  Peter,  rousing  up,  "we  have 
struck  good  wide  piece  of  liice  what  wus  jews  so  smoot 
lack  glass,  an  Ah  suepose  de  widday  she's  say  to  heurseff, 
'  Now  Ah  guess  Ah  goan  leeve  heem  behine, '  an  so  she's 
make  brush  for  de  leed  an  I  have  let  heur  pootay  nigh  got 
bah  me. 

"Den  Ah  jews  heasy  up  on  mah  Ian  leetle  beet,  an  bah 
gosh  1  you  otter  see  dat  leetle  feller  got  down  to  hees 
work. 

"Well,  Monsieur  Jack,  you  could  bleeve  me  ou  no,  jews 
as  you  wus  mine  to,  but  pon  mah  wurd  he's  fairly  fiy  I 

"Eef  he  wus  have  reglar  wing  he  coo'nt  fly  no  fasserl 

"  Bah  George,  Ah  nevaire  wus  ride  so  fass  een  all  mah  laf 
beefore !"  and  Mr.  Bertrand  again  paused,  and  with  firmly 
compressed  lips  gazed  down  into  Jack's  face  with  rigid 
countenance. 


iiiii 


IplililillM 


BORDER  CANUCZS. 


Then  starting  u-p  he  resumed,  "  An  so  Ah  wus  go  so  fass 
and  leeve  de  ole  Crapaud  an  do  widday  behine  soqueeck, 
Ah  jews  le2  de  leetle  feller  broke  an  leeve  hees  foots  so's 
she  was  goan  tink  eet  was  honly  bah  acceedent  he  wus  go 
so  fass  fur  dat  tarn,  you  know. "  And  here  the  owner  of  the 
chestnut  *'  flyeur "  winked  voluminously  at  his  youthful 
and  sympathetic  auditor. 

"  An  beefore  Ah  could  got  de  leetle  feller  down  to  hees 
work  agin  de  ole  woraans  wus  hup  long  side  me,  an  ole 
Crapaud  wus  actin  fuss  class. 

"  So  we  goes  long  fur  more's  half  a  mile  side  an  side. 

"Den  de  widday  wusankshus  f ui  got  by  and  she  beegeen 
to  poosh  on  de  Ian,  an  poosh  on  de  Ian,  "  here  Peter  held  up 
his  hands  and  arras  and  threw  himself  in  an  attitude  in 
imitation  of  ihe  widow's  driving,  "  An  poosh  on  de  Ian  I 
an  holler,  an  yell  loud's  she  coo'nt ! 

"  An  den  Ah  beegeen  to  heasy  hup  on  mah  Ian,  an  holler 
an  yell  pootay  good  too. 

*'  An  we  wus  go  fass  "  and  Peter  here  allowed  his  arms  and 
hands  to  drop  down  limp  on  either  side  of  his  commanding 
form,  "  An  poosh  on  de  Ian,  "  he  repeated  bowing  his  head 
forward  and  back  slowly  with  each  repetition,  "an  poosh 
on  de  Ian,  an  go  fass,  bah  gosh!  We  wus  go  fassl 

"  Pootay  soon  ole  Crapaud's  broked  an  leeve  hees  foots. 

"  Den  de  widday  she's  git  mad.  She  zvusmadl  Ah  could 
see  she  wus  mad  clean  trough  when  she  wus  drop  behine. 

"  She's  Stan  up  on  de  cutteur  an  wheep  de  ole  horse — lash 
heem  hard's  she  coo'nt 

■ 

"  Bah  gosh,  she  wus  mad  ! 

"  An  so  when  Ah  have  see  dat  Ah  wus  to  slow  up,  an  she's 


60 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


come  long  side  agin,  an  Crapaud  wus  actin  verrah  well  an 
she  wus  try  to  go  pass  me,  but  no  sair,  she's  coo'nt  do  dat ! 

"  An  so  we  pace  long  side  an  side  unteel  we  come  to  de 
plasse  wheres  you  turn  up  to  go  to  Lemay's,  de  half  ways 
house,  an  Ah  have  stop  dare  an  de  widday  she's  go  on  hup 
long  de  lac  shore  tourds  home, ''  and  Mr.  Bertrand  while  he 
paused,  again  uncovered  his  head,  and  producing  the  red 
bandanna  proceeded  to  wipe  the  inside  sweat  band  of  his 
conspicuous  cap. 

"So  you  think  you  were  too  much  for  Crapaud  and  the 
Widow  Martin  that  day  do  you  ?"  asked  Jack  laughingly. 

"  Ah  doan  tink  so,  Ah  knows  so, "  replied  Peter  with 
confidence,  as  he  slowly  restored  his  cap  and  handkerchief 
to  their  respective  places. 

"  Well,  but  you  haven't  told  me  how  you  came  to  make 
the  match, "  suggested  Jack. 

"  Aw,  yas ;  Ah  wus  goan  toll  you  dat, "  replied  Peter,  as 
he  straightened  himself  up  to  his  full  height 

"  Well,  Ah  have  stop  at  Lemay's  bout  wan  hour.  Ah 
guess — have  tree  four  dreenk  wit  de  byes,  you  know — New 
Year  tam  you  know. 

"  Den  Ah  have  geeve  tree  four  swallow  ov  wateur  to  de 
ponay  an  start  hup  tourds  home. 

"  When  Ah  have  got  oposight  de  tavern  ov  de  widday, 
jews  beefore  you  come  to  de  veellage,  Ah  have  taught  Ah 
would  go  een  an  spent  a  quartair  wit  heur  an  see  how  she's 
feel  aftair  our  brush  togedder. 

"  So  Ah've  stop  an  tie  an  covaire  up  de  ponay  and  go  een. 

"  When  Ah  wus  arrive  on  de  eenside  ov  de  bar.  Ah  fine 


.  'f 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


61 


€et  wus  foole  ov  all  kine  of  fol\o  an  a  good  many  ov  dem 
wus  pootay  much  on  de  weevin  way  too. 

"  Ah  suepose  acose  eet  wus  goan  to  be  New  Year's  to- 
morrow, you  know. 

*'  Lots  ov  mall  nabor  wus  mongst  de  crowd,  an  AhVe  ax 
all  ov  dem,  evary  wan  what  wus  on  de  room,  fur  have  a  dreenk 
wit  me,  an  so,  jews  as  we  wus  to  took  dat  dreenk,  de  widday 
she's  come  een  from  de  back  room.  '  Well,  Pierro, '  she 
say,  *  Ah  suepose  you  wus  feel  pootay  good  acose  you  have 
hole  so  well  wit  me  an  Crapaud,  dees  aftairenoon;  but  you 
need  not  to  got  drunk  ovaire  dat,'  she  say. 

"  Well  sair,  dat's  mac  me  mad,  Monsieur,  dat's  mac  me 
mad  cleen  trough  !  An  Ah  say;  *  No,  Madame,  Ah  wus  not 
goan  got  drunk  bout  sich  leetle  tmg  lac  dat,  Ah  wus  jews 
come  on  yo  house  fur  spent  two,  tree  shillin  an  Ah  wus  not 
espec  dat  Ah  wus  goan  be  ansulte  bah  de  laday  ov  dat 
house. ' 

"  'Oh,  no, '  she  say,  '  you  muss  excoose  me,  Ah  wus  only 
tink  you  wus  feel  leetle  too  good  cos  ole  Crapaud  have  not 
leeve  you  furdeur  behine  dees  aftairenoon. ' 

*' '  Madame. '  Ah  say,  '  yo  ole  creeple  nevaire  see  de  day 
lie  could  leeve  behine  dat  leetle  chesnut  ponay  Ah've  got 
tie  to  de  poss  houtside. ' 

"  Well,  sair,  dat's  mac  de  widday  mad,  Ah'll  toll  you ! 

"Heur  fass  wus  got  pale  lac  sheet  an  she  say,  varrah 
slowlay,  wit  tremble  on  heur  vice,  lac  she  wus  try  fur  to 
keep  sumting  down  dat  wus  bylin  hup  heenside  ov  heur, 
you  know. 

"  *  Well,  Monsieur  Pierro  Bertrand, '  she  say,  *  Ah  jews 
toll  you  what  Ah  weel  do  wit  dat  ole  creeple,  as  you  calls 


52 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


heem.  Ah  weel  geeve  you  ten  dollaire  ef  you  wants  to  bet 
me  twentay  dollair  dat  you  kin  beet  dat  ole  creeple  wit  dat 
chestnut  plug  ov  yourn,  mile  heet,  on  de  hice,  tree  week 
fruni  nex  Satureday  I'  and  den  she  have  turn  roun  to  de 
crowd  an  say,  'dat's  de  way  Ah  talks  to  folks  dat  calls  mah 
horse  creeple. ' 

"  '  Well,  Madame  Martin, '  Ah  say,  '  Ah  doan  tink  dare 
wus  hany  use  fur  you  to  got  yo  back  up  lac  dat.  * 

"  '  You  have  ansulte  me  fust,  an  Ah  have  not  ansulte  you  !' 

" '  Ah  have  onlay  call  yo  ole  horse  Crapaud  wan  creeple, 
an  Ah  guess  Ah  wus  not  fur  wrong  needer. ' 

"  Den  she  say  een  loud  vice,  an  stomp  heur  foot  on  de 
fleur,  an  shook  heur  head  an  arm : 

"  *  Hany  mans  what  ansulte  mah  horse  Crapaud  ansulte 
me  too,  an  Ah  goan  mac  heem  put  up  ou  shut  up  sure 
ting!'  An  when  she  have  say  dat  some  ov  de  crowd  was  cry, 
*  shame  fur  me  fur  ansulte  a  widday  womans  lac  dat ' 

"  Well,  bah  gosh  !  Ah  have  got  mad  den  ! 

"  Ah  wus  fightin  mad  1  An  so  Ah  tooked  hofl  mah  ovair- 
coat  an  lay  heem  down  on  de  conetaire,  an  Ah  say, 
an  Ah  have  haddress  evary  wan  on  de  compagnie :  '  Ah 
have  come  on  dees  house  lac  a  peecefool  ceeteezan,  lac  Ah 
wus  always  try  to  be,  an  de  fuss  ting  Ah  knows  de  layday 
of  de  house  ansulte  me.  Mais,  Ah  doan  ansulte  heur  on 
rayturne  for  dat. 

"  '  Ah  onlay  say  heur  ole  horse  Crapaud  wus  wan  creeple ; 
an  now  Ah  say  furdeur  dan  dat.  Ah  kin  prove  hee's  creeple, 
an  eef  hany  mans  on  dees  room  would  lac  to  took  dat  up, 
come  right  long  an  Ah  goan  try  to  geeve  heem  hees  bellay 
fool  of  sateesfaction.' 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


53 


"Ifais  noboday  wus  to  answer  dat^>ar  exiunplel 

"*Now,  Madame,*  Ah  say,  haddressin  do  widday,  'you 
have  say  jewst  now  dat  you  would  be  willin  to  geeve  me 
ten  dollair  eef  Ah  would  bet  you  twentay  dollair  dat  Ah 
coold  beat  yo  ole  horse  wit  mah  lectle  chesnut  plug.' 

*' '  Yas,  *  she  say,  'an  Ah  say  dat  agin .' 

"  '  Well,  Madam, '  Ah  say,  '  Ah  doan  want  fur  took  no 
a  vantage  ov  you. 

"  *  Ah  doan  want  yo  monnah  unless  Ah  weens  eet  fair  an 
lioness  lac  a  genseeman,  lac  Ah  hopes  Ah  wus  always  goan 
be,  an  so  Ah'll  toll  you  what  Ah  weel'do  wit  you. 

"  'Ah  weel  bet  you  twenty-fahve  dollair  heven,  and  poot 
de  monnah  hup  on  ban  ov  Ephraham  Parent  here,  raght  hoff, 
dat  mah  leetle  chesnut  plug  kin  beat  yo  great  Crapaud  on 
de  hice  hanywares  you  wus  mine  to  tree  week  from  nex 
Sateurday.' 

'An  so  de  widday  she's  look  seurprise  at  dat  proposee- 
shun,  but  she  say  dat  wus  greeble  to  heur,  provide  de  race 
wus  to  come  hofi  on  de  lac  shore  opposight  heur  tavarne. 

"'Aw,  well,  madame,'  Ah  say,  'Ah  doan  care  wlieres  de 
race  come  hoff ;  Ah'm  weelling  eef  we  goes  on  de  meedle  of 
de  lac  to  pace!    Eet  wus  all  de  sam  fur  me.' 

"  An  so  de  widday  she's  go  back  on  de  back  part  ov  de 
house  an  pootay  soon  she's  come  back  agin  wit  twenty-fahve 
dollair  an  poot  heem  hup  on  han  ov  Ephraham  Parent,  an 
so  Ah  have  pool  bout  mah  porte-monnaie  an  count  hout 
twenty-fahve  dollair  an  covair  eet,  an  dat  wus  de  way  de 
race  wus  mac  hup." 

"Mile  heats,  ay?  "  queried  Jack. 

"  Yas,  mile  heet,  bess  tree  on  fahve,"  replied  Peter. 


il      I'M 


j 

liiiiii 


mm 


I' 


I 


i'iiiiii 


54 


BORDEU  CANl'CKS. 


*'  And  I  suppose  there's  a  good  tleul  of  bitter  feeling  about 
the  race,  isn't  there,  Peter?" 

"Oh,  no;  fur  mah  part  Ah  doan  feel  no  bad  ft'din.  Aii 
have  shook  Imn  an  mac  eet  hup  wit  de  widduy  beeforo  Ah 
have  leeve  de  liouse  dat  evenin." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  did  that,"  observed  Jack,  who 
regarded  the  "\yidow  Martin's  horsey  peculiarities  with 
favor,  not  to  say  admiration,  and  often  had  put  up  at  lier 
hospitable  and  cleanly  hostelry  on  his  various  shooting  and 
sporting  outings. 

"  Aw,  yas,"  said  Peter,  "  she  have  pologize  fur  what  she 
have  say,  an  aftaire  we  poot  hup  de  monnah  on  ban  of 
Ephraham  Parent  she  have  ax  every  wan  what  wus  on  de 
bar  fur  took  un  petit  JiUais  at  heur  espence,  and  den  Ah 
have  ax  all  of  dem  to  took  sumting  wit  me,  and  den  sum 
ov  mah  nabor  what  wus  dare  have  treet,  an  udder  folks 
have  treet,  and  seeng  s,\xm.  chanson  Caiiadien,  and  ole  Moyees 
Duplesis  wus  dare  wit  bees  veeoleen  an  play  de  feedle  an 
sum  of  dem  have  dance,  an  bah  gosh  I  when  Ah  have  drav 
home  bout  ten  o'clock  dat  naght,  dar  wus  two  black  ponay 
on  de  cutteur  eensted  ov  de  chesnut  wan  Ah  have  start  wit 
een  de  morning! " 

"And  1  suppose  the  race  is  pretty  well  advertised," 
remarked  Jack. 

"  Avtrtize  1 "  exclaimed  Peter,  "  You  bet  y^u  In  dat  race 
wus  well  avertize  1  Every  wan  wus  talk  '  eet  at  dp 
church  doer  lass  Sunday,  and  dare  wus  two        o  Sunday  y  i 

"  Yas,  I  guess  you  goan  see  de  beegc.  crowd  dare 
Hevair  was  on  de  hice  on  de  lac  shore,  sure  ting." 


if 


!ii;::'!ii 


BOKDEU  CANLCKS. 


66 


"By  Jove,"  saidJack,  with  youthful  impulse  aiul  outhus* 
iasm,  "  I'd  like  to  go  aiul  see  it  of  all  things  !  " 

"i/rtw  you  was  goan  come  to  de  race,  Monsieur  Jack, 
ay?"  exclaimed  Peter,  remonstratively  as,  after  fumhling 
about  inside  the  breast  of  his  overcoat,  he  produced  a  mam- 
moth silver  hunting  case  watch  which  he  opened  with  a 
click,  looked  at,  and  closed  with  a  snap.  "  Dat  was  goan  be 
de  beegess  race  any  wares  long  de  shore  dees  wintare." 

"Yes,  I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be,'*  assented  Jack,  "but 
I'm  doubtful  if  I'll  be  able  to  get  to  it." 

"J/aw/  Mais!''  exclaimed  the  owner  of  "dat  leetle 
chesnutplug"  with  a  surprised  look,  as  he  arose  from  his 
leaning  posture  upon  the  counter,  "  What  fur  you  say  dat, 
Monsieur  Jack?  You  wus  doubtfool  eef  you  wus  goan 
come  I " 

"  Well,  you  see,  some  of  the  folks  up  at  the  house,  '* 
explained  Jack — meaning  by  "some  of  the  folks"  his 
father — "have  been  kicking  up  a  row  lately  because  of  my 
running  about,  as  they  call  it,  to  all  the  races.  I  was  down 
at  one  on  the  Rouge  last  week,  and  I  got  fits  when  I  came 
back,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  Well,  bah  George  1"  exclaimed  Peter  with  an  intonation 
of  disgust  in  his  voice,  as  he  pulled  on  his  left  glove 
preparatory  to  taking  his  departure,  "I  tiidv  folks  muss 
have  mightay  queerious  noshun  what  objec  to  go  an  see  an 
horse  race  on  de  hice.  Dey  muss  have  what  we  calls  een 
French,  mauvaise  pensee  bout  he  very  ting,  Ah  guess." 

"  Well, '  said  Jack,  rousing  up  desperately,  "  I'm  going 
to  try  my  best  to  go,  anyway." 


?/ 


56 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


I 


" 


"  Dat's  raght,  Monsieur  Jack,  dat's  raght,  "  assented  Peter 
approvingly,  "  you  muss  try  you  bess  to  cone,  acose  you 
goan  see  de  best  race  you  nevaire  see  beefore,  sure  ting.  " 

"  Yes,  I'U  be  there  if  it's  possible, "  said  Jack  resolutely. 

*  An  now  I  muss  be  go,  "  cried  the  sportive  Canadian, 
extending  his  ungloved  right  hand,  *'  mine  you,  Ah  wus 
goan  espec  you  at  Belle  Riviere  two  week  from  ue^  Sateur- 
day.  So  good-bye  and  took  care  ov  yoseff  on  de  meentam,  " 
and  as  he  shook  hands  he  patted  the  youth  patronizingly 
on  the  right  shoulder. 

"  Good-bye  Peter,  "  said  Jack,  heartily.  "  I'll  be  on  hand 
if  it's  on  the  cards,  you  can  bet,  " 

"  All  raght,  Monsieur  Jack;  Ah  guess  you  goan  be  dare : 
good-bye, "  and  Mr.  Bertrand,  with  many  graceful  bows 
and  aurevoirs  to  the  clerks  behind  the  counter,  strode  up  the 
long  store  to  the  entrance  and  thence  down  to  the  ferry 
crossing. 

Peter  was  not  wrong  in  taking  it  for  granted  that  Master 
Jack  would  be  one  of  the  large  crowd  who  witnessed  the 
much  talked  of  race  between  the  Widow  Martin's  Crapaud 
and  "  dat  leetle  chesnut  plug  "  on  that  memorable  January 
afternoon  on  the  lake  shore  near  Belle  Riviere. 

Jack  was  there,  and  inasmuch  as  his  being  there  marked 
the  outset  of  an  important  epoch  in  his  life,  a  future 
chapter  will  be  devoted  to  a  record  of  what  transpired  ou 
that  occasion. 


CHAPTER  lY. 


I'll  be  on  liand 


Tlie  Widow  Martin  and  Her  Pacing  Pony  "Crapaud.*' 

Ik 

"TT  WOULD  be  like  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle  to  tell 
-^  any  ordinarily  well  informed  votary  of  the  trotting  turf 
of  America,  that  the  parent  stem  in  the  geological  tree  of 
many  of  the  most  noted  trotting  and  pacing  performers  of  the 
present  phenominally  cultivated  period  of  these  kinds  of 
speed  trials  and  contests — the  names  of  which  are  as  house- 
hold words  to  the  general  public — found  its  origin  in  the 
Canadian  family  of  French  ponies. 

They  are  properly  called  French  because  their  original 
ancestry  was  undoubtedly  the  Norman  horse  of  France,  and 
they  are  equally  appropriately  called  ponies,  because,  in 
size,  they  are  in  most  cases  greatly  degenerate  progeny  of 
their  parent  stock. 

But  it  is  only  in  point  of  size  that  they  are  thus  degenerate. 

In  respect  of  speed  and  intelligence  they  have  gained 
much,  and  in  point  of  endurance  they  are  notoriously  the 
peers  of  any  other  family  of  horses  on  this  continent 

It  is  probable  that  the  predisposition  with  so  many  of  the 
breed  to  amble,  or  pace,  which  normally  is  swifter  than  trot- 
ting, and  the  popular  gait  in  speed  contests  among  the  old- 
time  Canadian  habitants,  was  primarily  superinduced  by 
crossing  the  Norman  horse,  of  La  Nouvelle  France,  with  the 
so-called  Narragansett  pacer  of  the  English  American  colo- 
nies.   The  latter  breed  of  horses,  it  is  asserted  by  a  well- 

(57) 


tfi 


58 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Priiiiiiiiiiiii 

111  II 


informed  authority  upon  the  subject,  possessed  "a  line  of 
heredity  that  gave  them  certainty  of  speed  and  a  certainty 
of  type  as  long  ago  as  A.  D.  1690."  They  were  brought  out 
from  Great  Britain  by  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Virginia  and 
Ehode  Island  where  it  is  said,  by  inbreeding,  they  estab- 
lished a  marked  new-world  identity  of  their  own  and  attained 
a  speed  of  less  than  two  minutes  and  thirty  seconds  to  the 
mile. 

The  same  authority  quoted  above  says  that  "  the  combi- 
nation of  these  ( the  Narragansett  pacers  )  with  the  French 
stock  imported  from  France  in  1665  produced  the  Canadian 
pacer."  Then  it  is  further  probable  that  during  the  early 
part  of  the  subsequent  English  occupation  of  Canada,  com- 
mencing in  1761,  these  Canadian  pacers  were  crossed  with 
the  English  thoroughbred,  or  well-bred  hunter,  from  which 
combination  Old  Piloi,  a  pacer,  and  the  grandsire  of  Maud  S, 
probably  originated. 

Old  Pilot  was  taken  from  Canada  in  a  plebeian  peddler's 
wagon,  and  before  he  died  in  the  States  had  made  for  him- 
self the  then  unprecedented  record  of  2:26,  with  165  pounds 
on  his  back,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  long  line  of  reign- 
ing kings  and  queens  of  the  trotting  turf. 

Like  the  ancient  progenitor  of  this  dynasty  of  regal 
horses,  the  large  majority  of  Canadian  ponies  used  in  the 
primitive  habitant  races  (  chiefly  on  the  ice )  in  the  lower 
province  fifty  years  ago  were  rackers  or  pacers.  Through- 
out the  French  settlements,  on  either  side  of  the  Detroit 
river,  these  grotesque  races  were  of  frequent  and  common 
occurrence,  not  only  on  the  ice  in  the  winter  but  also, 
owing  to  the  flatness  of  tbe  country  during  the  summer  and 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


59 


3ssed  "a  line  of 
and  a  certainty 
vera  brought  out 
of  Virginia  and 
ing,  they  estab- 
)wn  and  attained 
ty  seconds  to  the 

hat  "  the  combi- 
with  the  French 
jed  the  Canadian 
during  the  early 
of  Canada,  com- 
ere  crossed  with 
iter,  from  which 
dsire  of  Maud  S, 


d 


ebeian  peddler's 
made  for  him- 
with  165  pounds 
mg  line  of  reign- 

ynasty  of  regnl 
lies  used  in  the 
e)  in  the  lower 
cers.  Through- 
of  the  Detroit 
nt  and  common 
pointer  but  also, 
the  summer  and 


Iry  autumn  months,  on  the  straight  and  level  highways  or 
^urnpikes. 

When  purses  were  given  in  these  contests,  as  they  fre- 
mently  were,  by  the  sporting  country  tavern-keepers 
throughout  the  region,  they  usually  consisted  of  a  cow,  or 

sheep,  or  a  pig — the  reputed  value  of  the  animal  being  in 
)roportion  to  the  importance  of  the  event  and  the  amount 
>f  patronage  it  was  likely  to  draw  to  the  Boniface's  hostelry. 

If  une  vache  de  lonne  race  was  offered,  it  meant  that  the  pro- 
josed  contest  was  an  affair  above  the  ordinary,  while  a  pig, 
)r  a  sheep,  or  ten  bushels  of  oats  denoted  a  common  every- 
Saturday  pastime  for  practic*  and  the  training  of  incipient 
iyers. 

But  this  is,  of  course,  representing  a  state  of  things  which 
Existed  years  ago. 

During  the  period  of  this  story,  as  we  have  learned  from 

'eter  Bertrand's  relation  of  how  he  came  to  match  his 

I'leetal  chesnut  plug"  with  the  Widow  Martin's  renowned 

Jrapaud,  horse  racing  among  the  French  along  Detroit  river 

^nd  Lake  St.  Clair  had  come  down  or  gone  up  (  whichever 

jrm  the  reader  may  deem  best )  to  a  money  basis. 

The  match  twixt  the  v  uow  and  Peter  Bertrand  was  no 
>rdinary  event 

It  was  the  all-important  race  on  the  ice  of  the  season,  as 
iqW  because  of  the  heretofore  invincible  reputation  of  the 
ridow's  Crapaud,  as  because  of  the  fact  that  the  general 
public,  not  knowing  what  had  transpired  in  the  widow's 
j>rush  for  the  lead  on  New  Year's  eve,  regarded  the  owner 
^f  the  chestnut's  pretensions  as  little  short  of  insane.  The 
ridow  had  often  before  owned  reputedly   fast  horses — in 


60 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


I       ' 


i 


111  I 


fact,  for  years  past  slie  had  never  been  without  a  flyer  of 
some  sort,  either  trotter  or  pacer — but  no  pony  in  point  of 
speed  she  had  ever  owned  could  compare  with  her  present 
black  pacer,  "Crapaud." 

She  had  corae  into  possession  of  him  through  a  judicious 
trade  made  with  a  needy  neighbor  some  five  or  six  years 
ago ;  before  he  had  developed  the  remarkable  turn  of  s])eed 
which  had  since  vanquished  so  many  contestants  and  gained 
her  so  many  wagers  and  purses.  She  never  drove  him  in 
any  of  his  races  herself.  She  left  that  usually  to  an  expert 
who  rejoiced  in  the  sobriquet  of  "Budd  Doble,  junior,"  but 
whose  proper  patronymic  was  David  Laduseur,  whom  Peter 
Bertrand  had  been  heard  to  describe  as  a  "  fuss  class  7nac- 
an-ique  fur  drav  a  pacin  horse." 

The  widow,  however,  constantly  drove  Crapaud  on  the 
road,  and  he  had  never  failed  to  show  his  heels  to  anything 
in  the  shape  of  a  horse  she  wanted  to  pass,  until  she  failed 
to  give  "  dat  leetle  chesnut  plug  "  the  go  by,  during  that 
memorable  drive  on  the  ice  from  town  on  New  Year's  eve, 
This  had  been  a  potent  cause  of  chagrin  and  disappointment 
to  her,  and  though  she  counted  much  on  the  superiority  of 
Mr.  Budd  Doble,  junior's,  "  mac-an-ickal "  powers  as  a 
driver  over  her  own  pretensions  in  this  regard,  she  none  the 
less  looked  foward  to  the  coming  event  with  secret  forebod- 
ings of  a  possible  repetition  of  her  previous  experience  in  a 
much  more  humiliating  and  disastrous  form. 

But  to  the  outside  world  who  visited  her  hostelry  to  talk 
horse  generally,  and  the'coming  race  in  particular,  she  man- 
ifested every  confidence  and  scoffed  at  the  bare  idea  of  the 
lijttle  chestnut's  having  the  slightest  ghost  of  a  show  to  win. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


61 


ixperience  in  a 


The  truth  is  that  this  widow  was  a  very  remarkable  per- 
sonage. Not,  as  the  reader  might  very  naturally  infer  from 
her  occupation  and  manifest  prediliction,  a  coarse,  mascu- 
line and  repulsive  creature,  but  on  the  contrary  an  exceed- 
ingly agreeable  mannered,  and  by  no  means  unattractive 
woman  in  point  of  personal  appearance. 

On  the  shady  side  of  fifty  with  raven  black  hair,  untinged 
with  gray,  straight  Grecian-like  features,  large  expressive 
brown  eyes,  a  complexion  rather  ^nclined  to  a  swarthy  tint, 
good  firm  mouth,  and  a  straigUt  upright  figure,  slightly 
above  the  medium  height,  without  the  slighest  tendency  to 
embonpoint  or  grossness,  the  widow  Martin  still  possessed 
the  not  uncomely  remains  of  what  in  her  youth  must  have 
been  very  remarkable  beauty. 

She  had  been  married  twice.  The  first  time  because  she 
loved  the  man  she  became  the  wife  of,  and  at  his  death 
being  left  with  a  family  of  five  children  to  provide  for; 
after  a  widowhood  of  two  years,  she  had  taken  unto  herself 
as  husband  one  Ebeneezer  Martin,  who  was  a  short 
remove  from  an  imbecile,  because  she  either  did  not  care  or 
could  not  afford  to  pay  a  man  for  doing  the  chores  about 
the  tavern  and  looking  after  the  work  about  the  farm. 

She  had  kept  tavern  for  many  years,  and  it  was  always 
known  to  the  general  public  as  her  tavern. 

About  the  only  legacy  the  late  Ebeneezer  left  her  apart 
from  two  additional  children  to  look  after,  was  the  privilege 
of  thenceforth  prefixing  that  attractive  appellation  "  widow  " 
to  the  name  of  the  hostelry. 

As  the  Widow  Martin's  tavern,  it  was  known  throughout 
the  region  as  a  very  fair,  cleanly  maison  de  pension  for  trav- 


fiisiil - 


•62 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


ellers,  a  local  headquarters  for  aspiring  politicians  during 
parliamentary  election  contests,  and  the  winter  place  of 
rendezvous  of  local  horsemen  for  training  and  racing  their 
ponies  on  the  lake  ice  near  by  when  the  weather  permitted. 
The  hostelry,  an  unpretentious  square  frame  building,  was 
situated  on  the  lake  side  of  the  public  highway,  which  runs 
parallel  with  the  shore,  and  a  short  distance  from  where 
Belle  river  debouches  its  sluggish,  turbid  waters  upon  the 
sandy  shores  of  the  St.  Clair. 

Back  from  the  highway  a  short  distance,  the  Great  "West- 
ern Kailway  intersects  the  narrow  farm  very  nearly  at  right 
angles  with  its  length,  and  this  circumstance  served  as  a 
perennial  source  of  litigation  to  the  sportive  and  deter- 
mined proprietress  of  the  Widow  Martin's  tavern,  in  that  her 
animals  were  constantly  being  run  over  and  maimed  or 
killed  by  the  passing  trains. 

For  several  consecutive  years  she  carried  on  a  sort  of 
litigious  vendetta  against  the  railway  company  because  of 
these  constantly  recurring  casualties  among  her  kine,  until 
her  name  became  a  household  word  in  the  courts  and 
among  the  lawyers  of  the  judicial  district. 

Indeed  it  was  said  that  she  was  no  mean  lawyer  her- 
self. Albeit  she  was  unable  to  read  or  write,  her  adroit- 
ness and  finesse  m  the  witness  box  frequently  elicited  the 
admiration  of  a  crowded  court  room  at  the  old  County 
Town  of  Sandwich. 

During  a  spring  term  of  the  court,  when  the  roads  were 
usually  well  nigh  impassable  for  heavy  vehicles,  she  in- 
variably mounted  an  old-fashioned  red  wheeled  trotting 
sulky,  and  with  a  foot  stretched  out  on  the  thills  on  either 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


63 


side  of  her  pet  pony  she  would  reach  the  scene  of  her 
pending  legal  battle  witn  comparative  ease  and  expedition. 

In  short,  Widow  Martin  was  an  enthusiast  as  to  any  matter 
of  serious  concern  she  had  in  hand,  and  whatever  she  did  she 
did  vigorously  and  with  an  eye  to  the  triumphant  carrying 
of  her  point. 

On  the  morning  of  the  race  the  sun  was  still  "  held  a 
prisoner  in  the  yet  undawning  East  '*  when  she  arose  after 
a  night  of  fitful  and  uneasy  rest,  and,  going  to  the  stable 
before  Mr.  Budd  Doble,  Junior,  had  put  in  an  appearance, 
with  her  own  hands  she  sifted  the  oats  and  shook  out  the 
small  wisp  of  sweet  timothy  hay  intended  for  Crapaud's 
breakfast,  which,  after  removing  his  crude  muzzle  she  gave 
him  and  watched  him  devour  in  a  manner  sufficiently 
voracious  to  give  her  renewed  courage  in  her  contemplation 
of  the  coming  momentous  event 

"When  Mr.  Budd  Doble,  Junior,  made  his  appearance  in 
due  course,  she  thoroughly  aroused  him  from  his  semi- 
s  Dmnolent  condition  by  a  vehement  dissertation  on  the  evils 
of  drink  in  respect  of  its  bearing  upon  the  nerves  and 
judgment  of  a  driver  of  fast  horses,  which  she  wound  up 
by  saying,  "  Now  Dawveed,  if  you  drink  a  single  swallow 
of  whisky  or  any  other  kind  of  hoisson — mind  you,  one 
single  swallow — except  what  I  give  you  until  the  race  is 
over,  you  and  I  part  company  forever,  and  I  think  you'll 
travel  a  long  way  before  you  find  a  friend  who  will  take  as 
good  care  of  you  as  I  have  done.  " 

This  conversation  was  of  course  carried  on  in  French. 

"  Yes,  Madame, "  said  David,  yawning  as  if  his  jaws 
would  dislocate,  at  the  same  time  stretching  his  arms  out  to 


I 


'r-' 


64 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


iMi!  ■.'■■■!  ;l;i:ili!li™ 


their  full  length  above  his  head,  "  you  have  always  been 
very  good  to  me.  " 

"Now  last  night,  "  pursued  the  widow,  "I  did  not  want 
to  interfere  with  your  fun  but  I  saw  that  you  were  drink- 
ing too  much  and  making  too  free  with  the  people  in  the 
bar,  and  I  know  that  you  went  to  bed  drunk.  " 

"  No,  I  didn't  go  to  bed  drunk  either  I"  contradicted  David 
fiercely,  as  he  pulled  at  the  strap  to  unloosen  the  buckle  of 
the  surcingle,  which  secured  the  blanket  around  the  old 
horse. 

"  Yes,  you  did,  persisted  the  widow.  .      ' 

"No,  I  didn't." 

"  Yes,  you  did,  I  say, "  repeated  the  relict  of  Ebeneezer 
positively.  ,  ' 

*'  Well  then, "  loudly  proclaimed  David  as  he  walked  out 
of  the  stall  leaving  the  surcingle  and  blanket  still  on  the 
pony  "  if  you  will  have  it  that  I  went  to  bed  drunk  I  guess 
I'd  better  not  drive  this  horse  in  the  race  to-day !"  and  he 
proceeded  to  button  his  thin  coat  at  the  top  button  close 
under  his  fat  double  chin  with  trembling  fingers. 

"  Aw  I  you  needn't  talk  that  way, "  sneered  the  widow; 
"you  mustn't  suppose  that  you  are  the  only  one  I  can  get 
to  drive  my  horse.  I  can  drive  him  myself  if  it  comes  to 
that.  " 

"  Well,  then,  drive  him  yourself ! "  loudly  exclaimed 
David,  as  he  moved  his  fat,  short,  dumpy  figure  towards 
the  stable  door;  "and  groom  him  and  take  care  of  him 
yourself,  too  I  I  don't  care  1  You  are  always  fussing  and 
fuming  about  the  horse  and  interfering  with  my  work.  " 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


66 


"  I  don't  want  to  interfere  with  your  work,  Dawveed,"  said 
the  widow,  coming  down  from  her  perch  of  independence, 
"and  1  don't  want  to  drive  the  horse  myself,  either.  Your 
driving  suits  me  very  well,  as  I  have  told  you  before;  but  I 
want  you  to  keep  sober  for  your  own  sake." 

"  I  don't  care  a  picayune  for  my  own  sake  !  '*  responded 
David,  "  I  only  care  for  your  sake  and  the  old  horse's  sake." 

"  Yes,  Dawveed,  I  believe  you  do  think  a  great  deal  of  the 
old  horse,"  said  the  widow,  feelingly,  "and  I  know  you 
know  how  anxious  I  am  that  he  should  win  this  race  to-day. 
Not  for  the  sake  of  the  money  bet  on  the  result,  but  only 
because  I  don't  want  poor  old  Crapaud,  who  has  been  such 
a  good  friend  to  me  and  cock  of  the  walk  for  so  long, 
to  be  beaten.     So  we  must, try  to  win  this  race." 

"  Win  this  race !  "  exclaimed  the  much  mollified  Mr.  Budd 
Doble,  junior,  in  tones  of  disgust  at  the  bare  thought  of  a 
possibility  ot  the  old  horse  not  winning  the  race,  "why,  the 
only  way  he  can  lose  against  that  little  chestnut  rat  is  to  fall 
down  or  break  through  the  ice,  and  I  don't  think  either  of 
lliose  accidents  will  happen  him  to-day.  I  only  wish  I  was 
as  sure  of  getting  to  heaven  as  that  the  old  horse  will  win 
this  race." 

"  "Well,  my  boy,  I  hope  the  result  will  prove  that  you  are 
right,''  doubtfully  replied  the  widow,  now  completely 
restored  to  good  humor,  with,  however,  a  mental  reserva- 
tion of  irrepressible  inward  doubt  as  to  whether  David 
would  ever  get  to  heaven  if  his  doing  so  depended  upon 
Crapaud's  coming  to  the  front  to-day. 

The  fact  was  that  Mr.  Budd  Doble,  junior,  did  not  know 
the  true  inwardness  ot  what  had  taken  place  during  the 


XM 


Kpii'ri' 


Vf] 


m 


jiiriiiiii  i  I 


■|j'!li\!i 

,  ,.!;,;'.::!.;r::i!!ii!il 


66 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


widow's  repeated  brushes  for  the  lead  on  New  Year's  eve. 
She  herself,  of  course,  did,  but  she  had  never  had  the  abne- 
gatory  nerve  either  as  to  her  own  pride,  or  the  prestige 
attaching  to  her  beloved  Crapaud  to  tell  David  or  any 
one  else  of  it,  and  she  eagerly  devoured  the  crumbs  of  com- 
fort evolved  from  his  ignorance  of  how  great  had  been  the 
improvement  in  the  speed  capacity  of  Peter  Bertrand's  iive- 
year-old  chestnut  in  the  last  three  months. 

The  threatening  breeze  of  discord  'twixt  the  owner  and 
driver  was,  however,  now  entirely  dispelled  by  the  v/idow's 
conciliatorily  asking  the  latter  whether  he  had  had  his  bit- 
ters yet.  "You  must  feel  like  having  une  petite  Jilb.is, 
Dawveed,"  she  said;  "You  haven't  had  anything  yet  this 
morning,  have  you?  " 

" No,  of  course  not,"  sulkily  replied  David ;  "how  could 
I  have  got  anything  yet  this  morning?  The  bar  is  closed, 
and  I  suppose  you  have  got  the  key  in  your  pocket!"  and 
with  the  collar  of  his  closely  buttoned  coat  turned  up  and 
his  coon  skin  cap  pulled  far  down  over  his  forehead  and 
eyes,  with  hands  in  his  trouser  pockets,  he  leaned  up  against 
the  tall  oat  bin  near  the  stable  door. 

Upon  this  stood  a  coal  oil  lantern,  with  the  flickering  rays 
of  which  the  early  dawning  twilight  now  struggled  for 
supremacy. 

"Come  along  then  Dave, "  said  the  widow  as  she  took  the 
lantern  up  from  the  oat  bin  and  proceeded  towards  the 
entrance  to  the  stable,  "come  to  the  house  and  I'll  give  you 
an  eye-opener,  and  then  you  can  come  out  here  and  clean 
the  old  horse  off  and  do  whatever  else  3'ou  have  to  do 
before  you  take  him  out  for  his  morning  exercise.      I 


i'llii 


-R 


BORDEU  CANUCKS. 


67 


y> 


suppose  the  crowd  will  commence  to  arrive  early  as  we  are 
lilvely  to  have  a  fine,  clear  day  and  I'll  be  too  busy  to  look 
after  it  myself,  so  you  must  not  neglect  to  take  liim  over  to 
the  shop  and  liave  his  shoes,  and  particularly  the  hind  ones, 
set  all  right. " 

"All  right  Madame,  "  responded  Dawveed  gruflly,  as  he 
followed  in  the  widow's  wake  to  the  house  for  his  morning 
bitters.  "  I'll  look  after  everything  all  right,  you  can 
depend. " 

"  And  keep  sober  Dawveed  for  my  sake  ?"  interrogated 
the  widow  nervously  and  appealingly. 

"Oh  shawl  of  course  I'll  keep  sober  for  everybody's 
sake !  What  do  you  take  me  for?"  which  exclamatory 
query  still  remained  unanswered  as  they  reached  the  kitchen 
door  and  passed  into  the  house. 


I  :• 


'„;:ii 


li! 


liiiil 


CHAPTEll  VI  r. 


TheFakert. 


rX^IIE  "WIDOW  was  right  in  her  cstimato  of  tho  weather 
-^      prospects. 

After  struggling  through  an  opaque  bank  of  leaden  grey 
clouds  which  fringed  the  soutiieastcrn  horizon,  old  Phoebus, 
as  if  bent  upon  making  the  most  of  his  brief  journey 
"down  to  the  roscy  west"  shone  forth  in  all  his  refulgent, 
shimmering,  winter  glory,  making  the  snow-clad,  low-lying 
shores  and  the  vast,  ice-bound,  glittering  lake  tryingly 
dazzling  to  the  naked  eye  to  contemplate. 

By  twelve  o'clock  noon  a  sufficiently  large,  eagerly 
expectant  crowd  had  arrived  to  tax  to  its  utmost  capacity 
the  widow  s  accommodation  for  man  and  beast. 

The  bar  and  sitting  room,  the  former  to  the  right  and  the 
latter  to  the  left  of  the  front  entrance  hall  of  the  hostelry, 
were  filled  to  overflowing  with  a  jabbering,  good-natured 
crowd  of  sportive  French  yoemanry,  interspersed  with  a 
sprinkhng  of  English-speaking  sharps  and  flats  from  the 
town  and  city  who  had  been  attracted  thither  by  the 
unwonted  importance  of  the  coming  event 

The  inevitable  *'  sweat  board  "  and  "Wheel  of  Fortune" 
fakirs  from  the  purlieus  of  urban  civilization  were  duly  repre- 
sented. The  former,  by  a  dapper  little  man  with  glittering, 
ratty  eyes,  who  wore  upon  his  greasy,  frizzled  head,  a  high 
silk  hat,  a  little  cocked  to  one  side,  and  in  other  respects  as 
well,  bore  the  outward  signs  of  an  inward  speculative  spirit. 

(G9) 


w? 


70 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


He  had  not  worn  the  high  shiney  hat  on  his  journey  from 
town,  but  carried  it  carefully  in  the  same  box  which  con- 
tained his  gambling  outfit,  after  the  manner  of  peripatetic 
actors  in  the  transport  of  their  wardrobes.  Evidently  he  of 
the  ratty  eyes  deemed  a  reflective  silk  hat  as  indispensable 
to  a  proper  plying  of  the  "  sweat  board  "  busimjs  as  was  the 
paste  diamond  cluster,  which  ornamented  his  Chinese- 
laundried  shirt  front,  and  the  huge  Brumagei.i  watch  chain 
which,  after  encircling  his  fat,  rotund  neck,  ostentatiously 
crossed  his  stifHy  starched-  immaculate  bosom  and  modestly 
terminated  its  utilitarian  career  by  unobtrusively  passing 
through  one  of  his  low-cut  waistcoat  button  holes  and  appear- 
ing at  his  fob  as  an  unpretentious  and  serviceable  watch 
guard. 

He  was  an  oleaginous  little  man,  was  this  "sweat  board " 
speculator,  and  withal  courteously  polite  and  insinuatingly 
diplomatic  in  Ids  business  method  of  address. 

He  had  ens(!onced  himself  in  a  corner  of  the  large  bar- 
room, and  by  a  specious  and  mildly  earnest  and  sincere 
manner  of  putting  the  enriching  qualities  of  the  game  of 
"  sweat  board  "  to  the  crowd,  was  quietly  plying  his  beguil- 
ing vocation  with  moderately  satisfactory  results.  After 
repeated  taps  on  the  "  sweat  board "  table  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  crowd  he  said :  "  Now,  gents,  here  is  the 
little  game  we  call  "  chuck-a-luck  "  in  my  country — an  old 
and  familiar  game  to  sporting  speculators  in  ail  parts  of  the 
world. 

"  We  play  it  a  great  deal  in  the  country  I  come  from. 

"We  play  it  there  because  it  is  a  fair  game,  a  square 
game,  a  game  of  honest  and  legitimate  chance,  in  which  the 


BOKDER  CANUCKS. 


71 


novice  stands  as  good  a  show  as  the  oldest  man  in  the 
business.  In  fact,  it  Las  been  my  experience  of  this  honest 
pastime  that  the  man  who  plays  it  for  the  first  time  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  comes  out  a  winner. 

" Now,  gentlemen,  here's  your  opportunity."  Here  the 
specious  little  man  dived  his  right  hand  down  into  his 
trouser  pocket  and  pulled  forth  five  twenty-dollar  gold 
pieces,  and  as  he  tossed  them  up  from  one  hand  to  the  or  uer 
he  continued  his  preliminary  remarks :  "I  brought  these  five 
twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  and  a  roll  of  United  States 
national  currency  along  to-day,  and  if  I  don't  do  one  of  two 
things  with  them  before  I  go  back  to  the  city  after  the  race 
is  over,  I'll  be  a  disappointed  man.  I  am  either  going  to 
leave  it  here  with  you  to  invest  in  whatever  charitable  or 
other  institution  you  may  deem  worthy  of  your  patrouage, 
or  in  default  of  this,  I  fain  would  take  the  roll  back  so  fat- 
tened as  to  enable  me  to  increase  my  already  large  contri- 
bution to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Benevo- 
lent Fund. 

"  Now,  here's  your  chance  gents,  here's  your  chance  !  It 
will  be  two  hours  yet  before  the  horses  start  in  the  race  and 
until  that  begins  we  are  better  here  beside  the  fire  than  we 
would  be  shivering  with  the  cold  outside.  Come  right  along 
then,  gents,  and  try  your  luck.  Twenty-live  cents  on  the  six, 
he  says.  There  you  are,  sir.  Now  then,  sir,  throw  the  dice 
to  suit  yourself,  remembering  always  that  it  is  an  invariable 
rule  of  the  game  that  you  must  cover  them.  Raise  the  box 
with  your  own  honest  hands  sir.     Two  sixes  and  a  deuce. 

There  you  are,  sir  !  You  win  twenty-five  cents  twice, 
twenty-live  cents  two  times,  making  a  grand  total  of  fifty 


i 

,;» 

Y 

I 

1 

'     ■-.■ 

72 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


cents.  There  you  are,  sir.  Now  drop  the  dice  back  into 
the  box — do  it  with  your  own  honest  hands — make  your 
bet  and  shake  '  em  up  again '  *1^  suit  yourself.  Ah,  there 
you  are  again  !  You  win  once  again,  sir.  Keep  right  on 
that  way  and  I'll  resign  my  membership  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  your  favor  and  seek 
oblivion  in  the  walks  of  private  life." 

However  much  of  Greek  to  many  of  hia»  hearers  there 
may  have  been  in  this  stereotyped  manner  of  address,  it  was 
not  without  material  results  and  the  unctuous  little  faker 
for  a  time  drove  a  lively  traffic  in  iive-,  ten-  and  twenty -five- 
cent  pieces. 

Ill  the  sitting  room  across  the  hall,  the  wheel  of  Fortune, 
at  a  ten-cent  basis,  rotated  ephemeral  gains  and  ultimate 
inevitable  losses  to  its  adventurous  votaries. 

It  was  manipulated  by  its  owner  who,  in  point  of  physique, 
was  an  animated  demonstration  of  u  geometrical  straight 
line  as  possessing  length  without  breadth.  He  was  a  tall 
man  with  light  tow-like  hair  and  mischievously  twinkling 
grey  eyes,  and  withal  pigeon-toed  and  preternaturally  long- 
armed.  He  spoke  English  with  a  slight  Yankee-French 
twang  and  a  humid  splutter,  as  if  his  tongue  performed  some 
sort  of  acrobatic  somersault  within  his  mouth  at  the 
beginning  and  ending  of  each  sentence  he  uttered. 

Whatever  he  said,  as  Arbiter  of  Dame  Fortune's  specul';- 
tive  wheel,  he  said  solemnly  and  with  a  sphinx-like  rigidity 
of  countenance ;  but  while  his  outward  form,  and  long 
drawn-out,  deliberate  method  of  articulation  savored  of 
church  yards,  and  kindred  sepulchral  things,  his  small  eyes 
dazzled  and  danced  beneath  their  quivering  lids  as  if  his 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


73 


whole  personal  make  up  and  immediate  surroundings  were 
a  very  amusing  joke. 

He  stood  forward  to  the  left  of  the  wheel,  which  was 
placed  within  a  few  inches  from  the  wall  on  an  impromptu 
platform  so  that  any  one  in  the  room  could  easily  distin- 
guish the  numbers  upon  it  "  Here,  my  friends,"  called  out 
this  bizarre  funereal -looking  import  in  sonorous  and  stentor- 
ian tones,  "  here  is  the  Wheel  of  Fortune,  the  fairest  and 
'.'riendliest  game  known  to  man.  It  is  so  fair  and  so  friendly 
that  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  it  operate  on  the  race  track  at 
Detroit  last  fall  I  won  enough  money  playing  agin  it  to 
become  its  owner;  and  here  it  is  in  all  its  original 
innocence."  Here  he  gave  the  wheel  a  push  downwards, 
which  sent  it  flying  around  its  axis  \7ith  lightning  speed. 
"  Anybody  can  see  that  there  is  no  chance  for  a  gouge 
here,"  he  continued  solemnly.  "  Anybody  can  see  how  she 
works.  Anybody  can  work  her.  That's  the  reason  a 
respectable  gent  from  the  country  like  yours  truly  owns  her. 
Nuthin  mysterious  about  this  ere  gamel  These  are  the 
paddles  (  holding  them  up ) ,  twenty  of  them,  with  five  of 
the  one  hundred  numbers  on  the  wheel  on  each  one  of 
them.  At  ten  cents  a  paddle  there  will  be  two  dollars  in  the 
pool.  I  turn  the  wheel  in  this  manner,  and  whenever  she 
stops  that  there  Injun  rubber  indicator  will  pint  to  a  certain 
number,  and  whoever  holds  the  paddle  with  that  number  on 
it  rakes  in  the  pot,  less  ten  per  cent  for  the  poor.  Here  is  a 
charitable  game  for  you,  my  friends.  A  simple  game  for 
honest  folks.  A.  fair  game ;  a  square  game.  Every  man 
who  plays  it  is  on  equal  terms  with  every  other  man  in  the 
pool.     Only  ten  cents  per  paJdle.     One  shove  of  the  wheel, 


74 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


and  when  she  stops  rollin,  two  dollars  to  the  winner,  less 
ten  per  cent  for  the  deservin  poor  I  Come,  my  friends; 
here  are  your  puddles.  Ten  cents  ?  Yes,  only  ten  cents. 
Five  of  em  to  or>e  gent!  There,  sir,  hope  you'll  git  thar, 
my  friend.  Only  one  .more  paddle  —  here  you  are,  my 
friend !  One  more  paddle  to  sell  and  the  game  is  made. 
Come,  be  quick  about  it  I  or  here  she  goes,  and  I  keep  it 
myself;  and  I'll  probably  win  the  pot,  cos  I'm  terrible 
lucky  play  in  agin  this  ere  wheel.  Do  you  want  it,  sir? 
Yes,  sir,  only  ten  cents.  Here's  the  lucky  one!  Who 
wants  it?  Ten  cents?  Yes,  sir.  Thank  you,  my  friend. 
And  now,  gents,  the  game  is  made,  and  here  she  goes  I " 

Thus  the  game  once  started,  the  Doctor,  as  this  serio- 
comic sepulchral-looking  faker  was  familiarly  nicknamed, 
found  no  difficulty  in  keeping  it  going  until  the  news 
reached  the  house  that  the  start  for  the  first  heat  in  the  race 
was  about  to  take  place,  whereupon  there  occurred  a  general 
stampede  of  his  speculative  patrons  to  the  track  along  the 
frozen  lake  shore,  now  glittering  in  the  sunshine,  and 
marked  well  nigh  throughout  its  entire  straight  mile  of 
length  by  groups  ^nd  detached  patches  of  every  description 
of  man  and  horsekind  known  to  the  neighborhood. 

Every  sort  of  winter  conveyance  used  by  the  habitants 
was  there  represented,  from  the  crude  jumper  and  traino, 
with  its  tall,  upright  wood  rack,  to  the  cariole  and  old 
fashioned  family  sleigh,  which  usually  contained  two  or 
more  of  the  tenderer  sex  in  holiday  attire. 

Meanwhile,  every  available  inch  of  shelter  afforded  by 
the  widow's  tavern,  and  the  sheds  and  stables  of  her 
neighbors  were  filled  to  overflowing  with  horses  and  ponies 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


?«► 


of  the  better  sort  driven  thither  by' sporting  patrons  from  a 
distance, 

Amonp;  the  last  of  these  to  arrive  were  Jack  Kathbone 
and  his  boon  companion,  Charley  Ford,  of  Detroit,  in  a 
half-famished  condition  after  their  long  drive.  The  former 
by  a  russe  which  will  hereafter  be  referred  to,  managed  to 
steal  away  from  the  paternal  domicile  with  his  grey  pony 
and  well  appointed  cutter,  and  picking  up  his  friend  as 
previously  arranged,  had  succeeded  in  making  a  late  start 
from  the  city.  They  had  made  up  for  lost  time  a  bit  by 
driving  the  distance,  about  twenty  miles,  in  two  hours 
and  five  minutes  by  the  watch,  and  the  grey  pony,  a  little 
thing  not  quite  fourteen  hands  in  height,  presented  a  some- 
what jaded  appearance  in  consequence,  when  they  pulled  up 
in  the  back  yard  of  the  widow's  tavern.  Jack,  who  was 
always  considerate  of  animals,  not  without  considerable 
difficulty,  because  of  the  crowd,  personally  saw  to  the  com- 
fortable bestowal  of  the  little  mare  before  he  and  his  com- 
panion sought  the  house  for  refre^ment  and  food  to 
hurriedly  appease  their  vigorous,  youthful  appetites. 

The  widow  had  driven  a  great  trade,  both  in  the  dining 
room  and  bar,  but  notwithstanding  this,  throughout  all  the 
incidental  din  of  crush  and  crowd,  anxiety  as  to  the  result 
of  the  coming  event  was  ever  uppermost  in  her  mind. 

She  could  not  rid  herself  of  constantly  reviving  thoughts 
of  how  futile  had  been  her  efforts  to  give  Peter  Bcrtrand 
and  the  little  chestnut  the  go-by  on  New  Year's  Eve. 

"Crapaud"  was  still  the  favorite  with  the  crowd  at  oddj 
and  she  had  been  on  the  point  of  remonstrating  with  several 


%i:wvf 


76 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


of  lier  acquaintances  who  had  betted  two  and  three  to  one 
on  the  old  horse,  but  then  this  would  have  betrayed  her 
rankling,  inward  doubt  of  the  result,  and  entailed  an 
explanation  of  the  circumstance  of  her  lamentable  failures 
in  her  brushes  for  the  lead  during  that  memorable  drive 
from  town  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  just  past.  What ! 
let  the  world  about  her  suspect  the  chagrin  and  humiliating 
annoyance  she  had  felt  because  of  that  episode?  No, 
indeed,  she  was  a  woman  every  inch  of  her,  albeit  her 
horsey  tastes,  and  like  a  woman  she  clung  to  the  impression 
of  what  there  might  in  the  end  prove  to  be  no  necessity  for 
mentioning  to  anybody. 

The  old  horse  might  win  in  to-day's  race. 

In  fact,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  Peter  Bertrand's 
nearest  friends,  it  was  the  very  general  opinion  that  it  would 
prove  a  walk-away  for  Crapaud,  and  although  she  felt  from 
what  she  had  seen  of  the  little  chestnut's  speed  that  this 
could  not  very  well  be,  still,  the  old  horse  as  driven  by  Mr. 
•  Budd  Doble,  Junior,  might  come  to  the  front,  aud  in  that 
event  her  silence  upon  the  subject  of  her  futile  brushes  for 
the  lead  during  that  drive  from  town  would  prove  the  proper 
thing  to  have  done ;  and  she  certainly  never  would  allow  her 
dear  old  horse  to  start  in  a  race  again. 

If  Peter  Bertrand's  pony  had  only  had  an  established 
reputation  on  the  local  turf  she  would  not  so  much  mind 
being  beaten  by  him ;  but  to  be  vanquished  by  a  green  five- 
year-old,  whose  owner  she  had  patronized  with  such  absurd 
and  annoying  consequences,  was  more  than  she  could  com. 
fortably  contemplate. 


'1  ■' 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


77 


She  was  full  of  these  nervous  misgivings  when,  leaving  the 
work  in  the  dining  room  and  kitchen  for  her  eldest  daughter, 
Rosalie,  and  hired  girl  to  look  after,  she  hurriedly  encased 
herself  m  a  fur  jacket  and  close-fitting,  fur  trimmed  hood 
and  sallied  forth  to  witness  the  first  heat 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


Tfie  Race  on  the  Ice. 


"TUST  AS  the  widow  flounced  out  of  the  back  door 
^  entrance  of  the  hostelry,  Jack  Rathbone  and  Charley 
Ford  crossed  the  yard  from  the  barn. 

Seeing  the  young  men  she  called  out,  excitedly,  *'  Hello, 
Monsieur  Ratbone ;  Ah  v^us  glad  to  see  you  not  forgot  to 
come  to  de  race.  And  you,  too,  Monsieur  Ford,  I  wus  glad 
to  see  you  here  to-day." 

"  How  de  do,  Madame  Martin,"  said  Jack  as  he  approached 
her  with  outstretched  hand.  "No,  we  couldn't  keep  away 
from  the  race,  and  we  have  arrived  here  pretty  nearly  starved. 
Have  you  got  anything  to  eat  left  in  the  house?  " 

"Well,  Ah  doan  know;  Ah  guess  so,  dough,"  said  the 
widow,  shaking  hands  with  the  young  men  hurriedly; 
"  come  een  dis  way  trough  de  keetchen  an  ax  Rosalie  eef  she 
coon't  git  you  sumting." 

"Is  Miss  Rosalie  in  the  house?'*  eagerly  enquired  Mr. 
Ford,  with  whom  the  young  lady  in  question — a  pretty, 
brown-eyed  girl  of  eighteen — had  flirted  on  the  ocoasion  of 
ft  previous  sojourn  at  the  widow's  during  one  of  his  and 
7ack  Rathbone's  shooting  expeditions  in  the  neighborhood. 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  will  fine  Rosalie  een  de  keetchin,  Ah 
guess.  We  have  be  so  beesay;  dare  wus  such  a  crowd 
here  for  dinner  dat  we  wus  moss  run  oU  of  our  leg.  Ah  have 
only  jews  be  able  to  got  way  now,  and  eef  Ah  doan  hurrjr  Ah 
goan  mees de  fuss  heat;  so  you  muss  please  excoose  me." 


»■" '  ■' 


il! 


(M' 


tm\ 


80 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"How  is  the  race  going  to  come  out,  do  you  think,  Mrs. 
Martin  ?  "  cried  Jack  as  the  widow  swiftly  and  excitedly 
set  out  for  the  lake  shore. 

"Oh,  Ah  doan  know,"  she  called  back,  shrugging  her 
shoulders  and  smiling  nervously ;  "Ah  goan  toll  you  bet- 
taire  aftaire  de  fust  heat." 

"  I  have  never  seen  the  old  lady  so  excited  about  any- 
thing before,"  observed  Charley  Ford  to  Jack. 

"Neither  have  I.  She  has  evidently  set  her  heart  upon 
winning  this  race,  and  is  not  by  any  means  certain  as  to 
how  it's  coming  out  But  we  must  hurry  and  interview 
Eosalie  and  see  whether  she  can't  get  a  sandwich  or  a  cold 
bite  of  something  we  can  carry  in  our  hands  and  eat  on  our 
way  down  to  the  track,  or  we'll  miss  the  first  heat  See ! 
Look  I    The  horses  are  warming  up  for  the  start  now." 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  replied  Ford,  "  You  can  get  there  as  soon  as 
you  please.  I'm  going  to  take  it  easy  and  wait  until 
Eosalie  is  ready  to  go." 

"  Perhaps  she  is  not  going  to  the  race  at  all,"  suggested 
Jack. 

"  In  that  case  I'll  not  go  to  the  race  either,"  replied  Mas- 
ter Ford,  laughing,  as  they  passed  through  the  little  lean-to 
outside  summer  -kitchen  into  the  larger  inner  one,  still  redo- 
lent of  comfortable  warmth,  fried  onions  and  other  culinary 
odors,  ravishingly  tantalizing  to  the  young  men's  sharpened 
appetites. 

Meanwhile  the  widow  reached  the  coming-in  score  (  upon 
which,  in  a  two-seated  cariole,  sat  the  three  judges  )  in  ample 
time  to  see  the  horses  start  from  the  other  end. 


B0RDFT7   CANUCKS. 


81 


•*  Clar  de  track !  Got  off  de  way,  "  shouted  the  stoutest 
and  most  important  looking  one  of  the  judges  standing  up 
on  the  forward  seat  of  the  judicial  sleigh.  "  Clar  de  track 
dare !  De  horses  wus  jews  goan  start — mac  dose  folks  stan 
beck  dare  Ephraham !  Look  out,  d'ave  start !  No,  she's  no 
start !  Dey  wus  go  back  agin.  " 

And  they  did  go  back  again  a  half  a  dozen  times  before 
they  got  the  word  for  the  start,  with  the  experienced  old 
Crapaud,  famous  as  a  rapid  scorer,  having  a  little  the  best 
of  it. 

But  he  did  not  retain  this  advantage  long. 

"  Dat  leetle  chestnut  plug "  soon  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  he  possessed  quite  as  much  speed  as  his  competitor  by 
drawing  up  on  even  terras  with  the  old  horse,  and  for  two- 
thirds  of  the  mile  they  whizzed  along  at  a  2:30  gait  so  nearly 
abreast  of  each  other  and  so  close  together  that  the  pro- 
verbial blanket  could  have  covered  the  pair. 

It  was  a  very  exciting  heat  —  every  inch  of  the  way 
being  struggled  and  striven  for  with  stubborn  persistency 
by  both  horses  and  their  drivers,  who  yelled  unearthly 
howls  of  caution  and  encouragement,  commencing  slowly 
with  the  lowest  note  in  the  gamut  and  gradually  ascending, 
with  accelerating  speed,  to  the  apex  of  the  scale,  would  burst 
forth  into  a  series  of  yelps  and  whoas,  and  "  gee-long  dare, 
mon  sacre poUison." 

The  little  chestnut  completely  astounded  the  gaping,  noisy 
crowd  of  excited  on-lookers,  who  lined  either  side  of  the 
last  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  track,  by  actually  out-footing 
the  heretofore  invincible  Crapaud,  and  driving  him  to  a 
break,    the    gamy    old  horse    irretrievably    lost  at    least 


I 
'  I 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


•SIM  IM 

"II1I2     22 


:r  lis  lllllio 


\A  III  1.6 


I 

,; 


I 


■.i 

■i 


I 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


v 


S 


,v 


%R\ 


^ 


NJ 


<h^ 


^ 


#1^ 


^ 
'^»'''^ 
#/«• 


% 


^^^ 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14S80 

(716)  873-4503 


<^ 


J? 


I 


p 


I 


I 


82 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


two  lengths  —  about  the  distance  between  the  two  when 
the  triumphant  chestnut  crossed  the  winning  score,  amid  the 
loud  acclamations  of  the  astonished  on-lookers. 

Great  was  the  excitement  of  the  enthusiasts  as  they 
circled  around,  and  pressed  forward  to  pat  the  little  chestnut 
with  their  homespun  mittened  hands  as  he  returned  to  the 
winning  post  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  starting  judges 
from  the  other  end  of  the  track  to  report  to  their  confreres  at 
the  finish  whether  or  not  the  start  was  a  fair  one. 

Impressive  was  it  to  behold  Peter  Bertrand's  countenance 
beaming  with  surpressed  triumph  and  excitement  as  he 
nimbly  moved  his  Herculean  form  about,  tremblingly 
assaying  to  tuck  within  the  shafts  a  disreputable-looking, 
old,  wadded,  patch  quilt  he  had  succeeded  in  throwing  over 
the  steaming  equine  hero. 

In  reply  to  the  congratulations  of  surprised  friends  he 
exclaimed,  "  Comment  mes  amis  /  voits  me  prendre  pas  pour 
un  fou  eh  ?"  and  then  catching  Jack  Rathbone's  eager  eye, 
"You  see  Monsieur  Jack,  what  Ah  wus  toll  you  have 
come  true  ay?  Dee'nt  Ah  toll  you  we  wus  goan  geeve  de 
widday's  great  Crapaud  pootay  hard  poosh  to-day?" 

"Yes,  Peter!"  exclaimed  Jack  with  fervor,  "you're  a 
true  prophet,  and  no  one  on  this  ice  is  better  pleased  than  I 
am,"  and  struggling  through  the  surging  crowd  of  jabber- 
ing admirers  of  "  dat  leetle  chesnut  plug  "  he  shook  Peter's 
brawny,  outstretched  hand  with  all  his  might. 

"  Tank  you,  tank  you,  Monsieur  Jack ;  Ali  taught  you 
would  not  mees  dees.     Ah  wus  look  fur  you  beefore" 

The  starting  judges  not  having  yet  arrived  to  give  their 
report,  Peter's  pony  and  sleigh  was  slowly  led  back  and 


i«l 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


83 


ff, 


forth  past  the  judges'  sleigh  by  his  driver,  a  stubby  little 
man  of  any  age,  with  bandy  legs  and  a  suspiciously  rubi- 
cund complexion,  from  the  corner  of  whose  thick  lipped, 
half-open  mouth  there  trickled  down  a  liberal  oozing  of 
tobacco  juice. 

"Have  you  got  much  beside  the  stake  bet  on  the  result, 
Peter,"  enquired  young  Kathbone  as  he  walked  along  side 
the  latter. in  the  wake  of  the  pony  and  sleigh. 

"  No,  Ah  have  not  got  nutting  wort  speaking  bout  on  de 
race,  and  dat  what's  mac  me  feel  lac  keeckin  meseff  now  1 " 

"How  much  have  you  got  bet? "  enquired  Jack. 

"Beesides  de  stakes  wit  de  widday  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  Honlay  tree  to  fahve  two  tarn,"  deprecatingly  responded 
Peter,  "an  eef  Ah  honlay  hav  nuff  confeedence  Ah  could 
have  ween  more's  wan  hundred  dollair,  sure  ting." 

"  And  you  have  only  bet  three  to  five  twice.  Do  you 
mean  in  dollars?" 

"  No,  not  bote  of  dem.  One  of  dem  wus  een  quarteur,  an 
de  udder  wan  wus  een  dollair." 

"  Then  you  only  stand  to  win  six  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents  outside  the  stake." 

"  Yas,  Ah  guess  dat's  all,"  regretfully  assented  Peter  as 
he  shifted  the  bucket  and  large  sponge  he  was  carrying 
from  one  hand  to  the  other.  "Dat's  what  mac  me  feel  so 
mad  wit  meseff  now,  acose  Ah'm  sure  we  wus  goan  ween." 

"Well,  I  am  glad  that  you  feel  so  certain  about  it," 
replied  the  youth.  "  Glad  for  my  own  sake,  too,  because 
ril  win  five  dollars  which  I  bet  since  I  arrived  here  on  the 
strength  of  what  you  told  me  the  other  day  m  the  store 


M 


t  2? 

ssv 


f'/ 


•ii 


im 


m 


M 


.  r,8i«i 


84 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


iMA 


\m 


about  your  brush  with  the  widow  on  New  Year's  eve.  But 
do  you  feel  quite  sure  the  little  fellow  will  last  the  race 
out?" 

"What!  JLaas  out  de  race?"  indignantly  exclaimed 
Peter  with  sidelong  glances  at  his  young  friend.  "WI13', 
mon  ami,  dat  pony  wus  de  son  ov  mah  ole  trottin  mare 
'Lizay  Durand,'  and  she's  nevaire  know  how  to  quit  1  An 
hees  faddeur  wus  de  St  Louis  pacin  horse,  and  he  wus  good 
wan,  too.    Oh,  no!    Ah  doan  scare  fur  dat  wuss  a  cent." 

"  Then  you  must  have  raised  the  colt  yourself.  I  always 
thought  you  bought  him  from  somebody  a  year  or  so  ago. 
Didn't  Charley  Maisonville,  of  the  Dew  Drop  Inn  at  Walker- 
ville,  have  him  at  one  time? 

"Aw,  yss,  Farrow  Maisonville  have  him  leetle  while 
bout  wan  year  ago  now.  But  he  wus  honlay  break  heem 
an  train  heem  fur  me,  you  know.  Aw,  yas.  Ah  have  raise 
heem  mesefE,"  and  Mr.  Bertrand  lowered  his  head  in  ratify- 
ing satisfaction. 

"Have  you  given  him  any  name  yet?" 

"  Well,  we  alway  calls  him  Deck  to  home,"  replied  Peter, 
shrugging  his  shoulders  doubtfully. 

"But  I  mean  have  you  given  him  any  racing  name?  " 

"Aw  well,  de  byes  mongst  de  nabor  'roun  whores  Ali 
leeve  calls  heem  '  Hup-an-go  consan'  or 'Hop-an-go- 
consan. '  Ah  doan  know  what's  dat  mean.  Does  you 
Monsieur  Jack?"  confidentially  enquired  Peter  with  a 
bewilded  expression  of  countenance. 

"  Up-and-go-constant !"  repeated  Jack  laughingly,  "  Oh 
I  don't  know  whether  I  can  explain  what  it  means,  but  I 
do  know  that  the  boys  must  have  meant  to  make  fun  of 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


85 


I 


him  when  they  gave  him  such  an  absurd  name  as  *  Up-and- 
go-constapx. ' " 

''  Yas,  Ah  guess  dat's  a  fac, "  ruefully  assented  Peter, 
"dey  want's  to  mac  fun  an  fooleesliness  ov  heem,  but  Ah 
tink  dey  wus  goan  change  dare  toon  aftaire  dees,  an  Ah 
goan  geeve  heem  good  nam  you  see.  ' 

"What  do  you  think  of  calling  him?"  queried  Jack. 

"Well  Ah  doan  know, "  said  Peter,  dubiously  shrugging 
liis  broad  slioulders.  "  Ah  have  not  zaclay  feex  on  dat  yit 
you  see — mais  how  does  you  tink  Yelier  Deek  would 
soot?'» 

"  Yellow  Dick  1"  exclaimed  Jnck,  with  an  effort  to  keep 
his  face  straight.  *'  Why  nobody  ever  heard  of  a  yellow 
horse !" 

"  Well,  Ah  guess  he  wus  pootay  nigh  yelier,  wus'nt  he?" 
expostulated  Peter. 

"  Oh,  no ;  he  is  a  good  many  shades  off  being  yellow, " 
remonstrated  Jack. 

"  Yas,  "  admitted  Mr.  Bertrand,  doubtingly,  "  praps  he 
wus  not  zaclay  yelier,  what  you  calls  reglar  yelier  pure  et 
simple  you  know,  mais  he  wus  dirtay  yelier  —  jews  luc  as 
eef  he  wus  go  and  roll  een  dee  dirt  somewares  ain't  eet?" 

"  Oh,  no,  he  is  a  long  way  off  from  being  yellow.  He  is 
a  chestnut;  that's  the  proper  name  for  his  color — and  one 
of  thf;  prettiest  shades  of  chestnut,  too.  Why  not  call  him 
Chestnut  Dick?" 

"  Aw,  no ;  Chesnut  wus  too  ole  fur  young  horse  lac  he 
was.     No,  we  lyiuss  tink  ov  sum  udder  nam." 

At  this  juncture,  the  starting  judges  having  arrived  and 
reported  that  the  start  for  the  first  heat  was  all   fair  and 


i^ 


J-.ft 


,!  -  •■ 


ml 
mm 


86 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


right,  the  fat,  winning  post  judge  scrambled  to  an  upright 
posture  upon  the  front  seat  of  the  judicial  vehicle,  and  call- 
ing out  "Seelancel  Seelance,  mes  amis!  Sliut  hup  you 
mout,  dare!  Hole  on,  dare  I  Leesen  1 "  managed  to  bring 
the  crowd  to  a  sufficiently  long  period  of  quietude  to 
announce  the  result  of  the  heat.  He  said:  "  De  horse  ov 
Peirro  Bertran  have  ween  de  fust  heat  all  fair  an  square; 
so  we  have  deside  we  goan  geeve  dat  heat  to  heem.  No  tarn 
wus  took.'* 

Evidently  this  ponderous  judge  was  disposed  to  be  loqua- 
cious and  spin  out  his  official  announcements  to  as  great 
length  as  might  be ;  but  the  crowd,  in  its  excitement,  was 
in  no  humor  for  unnecessary  verbiage,  and  any  further 
remarks  from  the  judges*  sleigh  would  have  been  drowned 
amidst  the  cheers  and  counter  cheers  and  yells  of  the 
noisiest  portion  of  the  crowd  as  they  stampeded  for  the 
widow's  hostelry  for  refreshments. 

"  How  does  you  tink  de  nam  ov  "  Louis  Papineau " 
would  soot  mah  ponay,  Monsieur  Jack  ?  "  enquired  Peter, 
resuming  the  conversation  interrupted  by  the  judge's 
announcement 

"Yes,  that  wouldn't  be  a  bad  name,"  responded  Jack. 
"Neither  would  'Louis  Kiel.'  " 

"  Aw,  no,  no !  "  objected  Mr.  Bertrand ;  "  '  Louis  Riel  * 
wus  too  onluckay.  De  udder  wan  wus  bettaire.  Ah  guess 
dare  wus  no  wan  mongst  us  French  Canadien  dat  have  da 
so  much  good  fur  bees  compatriots  as  Papineau." 

"Yes,  I  have  always  heard  that  Papin^-au  was  a  great 
man,  and  quite  a  benefactor  to  his  country,  " 


^npi^i 


BORDER  CANUCKa 


87 


"Well,  Ah  (loan  know  what's  dat  mean,  mats  Ah'ra  sure  he 
wus  grate  mans  an  grande  hero,  too  !"  asserted  Peter  whose 
limited  knowledge  of  the  historical  status  of  Papineau  was 
purely  an  outcome  of  hearsay  tradition. 

"But  Papineau  has  been  dead  some  years,  has  he  not?" 
asked  the  youth. 

"  Aw,  yas,  av  course  he  wus  dead  long  tarn  ago,  more  as 
feeftay  year,  Ah  guess  —  but  bah  gosh !  Ah  toll  you  he 
wus  grate  mans  dough  1"  and  the  Herculean  owner  of  "  dat 
leetle  chesnut  plug'  confidently,  and  with  an  air  of 
mystery  slowly  nodded  his  head  back  and  forth  as  if  he 
could  a  tale  unfold  illustrative  of  the  prowess  and  acumen  of 
his  dead  compatriot,  which  would  paralyze  his  youthful 
listener. 

But  he  desisted,  and  Jack,  pursuing  the  subject  of  a 
suitable  name  for  the  pony  said,  "But  do  you  think 
Peter  that  it's  quite  the  right  thing  to  call  a  living  horse 
after  a  dead  man  ?  It's  scarcely  fair  to  the  horse,  and  I  don't 
think  it  could  exactly  be  regarded  as  a  very  high  honor 
to  the  dead  to  call  a  race  horse  after  him.  " 

"  Well,  maybe  not,  "  responded  Peter  with  a  demonstra- 
tive shrug  of  his  shoulders. 

"  Now,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do  with  you  Peter, "  con- 
tinued Jack,  blushing  as  if  he  were  about  to  perpetrate  a 
most  audacious  suggestion,  "If  you  call  that  pony  after  me, 
I'll  give  him  the  best  and  thickest  blanket  I  can  buy  for 
money,  and  have  his  name  marked  upon  it  in  handsome 
letters. " 

"  What ! "  cried  Peter,  coming  to  a  stand,  "  Call  heem 
Jack  Ratbone?  " 


1^ 


ll 
h 


'  $, 


!^' 


mm^ 


1^. 


88 


BORDER  CAXUCKS. 


"Yes,"  said  Jack,  timidl}'^,  nodding  his  head. 

"Bah  gosh,  Ah'U  do  eetl  Ah  goan  call  heem  Jack  Rat- 
bone  ;  shook  han  wit  me  1  "  and  he  changed  the  half  filled 
water  bucket  from  his  ham-like  right,  to  his  left  hand,  and 
shook  Jack's  diminutive  palm  with  a  vigorous  confirmatcry 
grip. 

Then  approaching  the  judges  he  said,  "Genseemans, 
jewjes,  beefore  dees  race  beegin  Ah  have  toll  you  dat  mali 
horse  have  got  no  nam.  Dat  was  de  trute  at  dat  tarn. 
Mais  now  eet  ees  deeferant  ting;  Ah  have  jews  chreesen 
heem.  Aftaire  dis  he  weel  be  know  bah  de  nam  ov  "  Jack 
EiiLbone."  Then  turning  to  the  crowd  behind  him  he 
launched  out  into  a  mixture  of  French  and  English  explana- 
tion. ^^Cette  jeune  homme,^*  he  said,  putting  his  hand 
lightly  on  the  blushing  Jack's  shoulder,  "  est  lefils  de  Mon- 
sieur Robert  Rathone  de  Detroit^  un  de  mes  grandes  amis.  Moss 
ov  de  folks  roun  here  knows  heem,  Ah  guess." 

"  Aw,  GUI  I  Nous  connait  bten.  II  est  un  de  nous  autresP* 
shouted  certain  of  the  large-lunged  crowd. 

"  Oui  mes  amis  Jack  Ratbone,"  reasserted  Peter  deliber- 
ately, as  he  slowly  nodded  his  head  back  and  forth.  "  Jack 
Ratbone  wus  goan  be  de  nam  of  dat  leetle  Deeck  aftaire 
dees." 

"  Hoorah  pour  Jack  Ratbone  I " 

"  Uestun  de  nous  autres  1  " 

"  Eh  bien  /  Comment?  Hoorah  pour  nous  autres  den  I " 
variously  exclaimed  the  effervescent  admirers  of  the  pony's 
new  name  among  the  crowd. 

And  what  were  the  feelings  of  our  bipedal  young  friend 
Jack  Rathbone  himself  while  this  was  going  on  ? 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


89 


Had  tho  Crown  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  or  what  in 
his  own  estimation  would  have  been  far  better,  the  Presi- 
dential toga  of  the  United  States  suddenly  fallen  upon  him, 
the  mantling  glow  of  proud  satisfaction,  which  sent  his 
warm  young  blood  coursing  through  his  veins  to  his  bright 
young  face  and  well  shaped  head,  could  not  have  thrilled 
his  heart  with  greater  momentary  happiness.  To  have  so 
promising  and  fast  a  young  horse  named  after  him!  What 
beatitude!  And  as  if  to  signalize  the  auspicious  event  the 
temporarily  hidden  sun  now  emerged  from  behind  a  flying 
cloud  and  again  shed  forth  his  dazzling  rays  upon  the 
hilariously  gathering  crowd  (now  rapidly  returning  from  the 
widow's  tavern)  in  gratefully  warm  and  resplendent  glory. 

There  was  an  indefinable  something  about  this  precocious 
young  American,  which  drew  older,  middle-aged  people  and 
very  young  childien  to  him. 

He  had  inherited  a  certain  sort  of  Frenchy  vivacity  from 
his  mother  which  the  English  stolidity  of  his  father  had 
toned  down  into  a  remarkably  unassuming  and  agreeable 
manner. 

He  could  not  carry  on  a  sustained  conversation  in  French, 
but  he  could  understand  the  Canadian  patois  and  appre- 
ciated the  quaintness  of  the  habits  and  customs  peculiar  to 
these  simple  minded  people.  "While  they,  on  the  other 
hand,  through  his  mother,  regarded  him  as  partly,  if  not 
wholly,  one  of  themselves. 

As  we  have  seen,  from  his  early  youth  he  had  mixed 
much  with  them  in  his  shooting  outings  along  the  lake  and 
river,  and  in  attending  the  sort  of  gatherings  he  was  at 


f.) 


"i 


■  I 


Y'. 


t'- 


r 

i 


Hl^ 


90 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


to-day;  and  his  popularity  had  grown  with  his  increasing 
acquaintance  and  his  advancing  young  manhood. 

So  that  Peter  Bertrand,  apart  from  considering  the 
promised  horse  blanket  as  an  incentive  (and  it  is  only  fair 
to  say  that  it  had  but  little  weight  in  inducing  him  to  do 
so)  was  not  far  astray  in  naming  his  equine  hero  after  his 
young  Detroit  friend.  In  fact  it  had  the  effect  of  increasing 
the  little  chestnut's  popularity  with  the  crowd,  if  that  were 
possible,  in  view  of  his  amazing  performance  in  the  first 
heat. 

"  Hoorah  pour  Jack  Ratbone  I"  went  up  on  all  sides,  and 
was  becoming  more  universally  acceptable,  when  one  of 
the  winning  post  judges  vociferously  rung  a  large  dinner 
bell,  preliminary  to  calling  the  horses  up  for  the  second 
heat 

"  Now  genseemans  I"  shouted  the  fat  judge,  after  he  had 
succeeded  in  balancing  himself  in  an  upright  position  on 
the  forward  seat  of  the  judicial  sleigh.  "You  muss  keep 
ordeurl  Took  yo  horses  down  to  de  startin  poss  f ur  de 
seconde  heat    Does  you  hear  me,  you  draveurs  ?  " 

"  Aw,  yas,  Ah  hears  you  Monsieur  Badeeshow,  "  replied 
the  bandy-legged  driver  of  "  dat  leetle  chesnut  plug." 

*'  Does  you  hear  me,  Dawveed  ?  "  yelled  the  judge  to  the 
driver  of  Crapaud, 

"  Aw,  yas.  Ah  hears  you,"  sulkily  responded  Mr.  Budd 
Doble,  junior. 

The  bandy-legged  driver  of  the  chestnut  now  stopped  his 
vibratory  leading  of  his  charge,  and  taking  the  bucket  of 
water  from  Peter,  gave  the  little  fellow  two  or  three  swal- 
lows preparatory  t  shecking  him  up  and  getting  ready  to 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


91 


obey  the  judge's  behest.  Nudging  Peter,  who  stood  al<^ng- 
side  him,  ready  to  remove  the  patch  quilt  oflE  tlie  pony  at 
the  last  moment,  he  said :  *'  Regard  done  la  vielle  atw  sa 
bouttiele  noiVe!"  and  then  he  shouted  out  to  the  driver  of 
Crupaud  :  "  Aw,  Dave,  you  kin  geevc  de  olo  feller  all  (U; 
wheeskey  you  wants  j  Ah  kin  beat  him  drunk  or  sobeur 
to-day!" 

"  Oh,  jrou  goan  drown  youseff,"  snarled  back  Mr.  Doble, 
junior. 

"  Not  beefor  Ah've  berray  you  !  "  yelled  he  of  the  bandy 
legs,  as  he  drove  off  up  the  glistening  track  to  warm  up  for 
the  second  heat. 

Meanwhile,  with  dampened  ardor,  a  small  crowd  of 
doubting  supporters  surrounded  Crapaud  as  he  was  being 
made  ready  to  go  up  for  the  start.  Dave,  his  driver,  was 
vainly  trying  to  staunch  the  oozing  blood  from  a  small  cut 
on  the  gamey  old  fellow's  quarter,  when  the  widow,  excited 
and  out  of  breath,  with  a  black  quart  bottle  in  hand,  elbowed 
her  way  through  the  sympathetic  little  crowd  and  put  her 
unoccupied  hand  upon  the  driver's  shoulder  as  he  bent  over 
the  mjured  near  forward  foot,  which  he  held  between  his 
slightly  bent  knees.  .  ■ 

Handing  the  black  bottle  to  Mr.  Doble,  junior,  she  said : 
"  Dar,  Dawveed,  put  some  of  dees  on  dat  cut ;  took  a  swal- 
ler  yoseff,  and  den  geeve  de  balance  to  de  poo  ole  feller 
heemseff,"  and  in  response  to  her  equine  pet's  whinny  of 
recognition  either  of  the  bottle  or  herself,  she  affectionately 
patted  him  upon  his  arched  neck.  "Nevaire  mine,  mah  po 
ole  feller;  you  not  goan  cut  yo  foot  agin  does  heat.  Ah 
hope.     You  goan  show  dem  what  you  kin  do  dees  tam, 


: 


h 


i'<i 


92 


BORDElt  CANl'CKS. 


ifevtiiliilllii 


ftint  you?"  Then,  na  If  tlerlving  renewed  courngc  and  con- 
fidence from  tliis  monologue,  she  placetl  her  arms  nkimbo, 
her  hands  resting  on  her  hips,  and  turning  to  the  small 
crowd  behind  her,  she  confidentially  and  with  an  intonation 
of  banter  said :  "  Ah  nevalre  see  de  ole  horse  go  back  on 
hees  wheeskey  yit  1  Eet  always  macs  hecm  bout  ten  secon 
fasser  when  he  gits  eet  at  de  raght  tani.  "We'll  see  what  we 
goan  see  beefor  decs  heat  ecs  ovaire  I"  and  wanning  into  n 
throe  of  confidence  she  called  out  loudly:  "Anybody  on 
dees  crowd  dats  want  bet  ten  dollair  hove.i  on  dees  heat 
come  decs  way,  an  Ah  goan  commodate  hecm  1  " 

But  no  one  responded  to  this  banter.  .  Ten  dollars  over- 
sized their  pile.  Many  of  them  had  already  bet  odds  on 
Crajiaud  before  the  first  heat,  and  having  spent  the  remain- 
der of  their  available  capital  in  Bacchanalian  refreshments, 
were  left  without  a  stiver  to  hedge  with.  "Whistling  to  keep 
theircourage  up,  and  demonstrative  sympathy  for  the  widow 
and  her  black  champion  with  a  view  to  future  free  drinks, 
were  the  only  recourses  left  open  to  them. 

After  a  religious  observance  of  the  widow's  instructions 
as  to  the  "swaller  "  for  his  own  inner  man,  Mr.  Budd  Doble, 
junior,  elevated  the  old  horse's  head,  and  inserting  the 
mouth  and  neck  of  the  black  bottle  in  the  corner  of  his 
jaws,  poured  its  contents  down  his  throat,  to  the  manifest 
satisfaction  of  Crapaud  himself  as  well  as  of  his  witnessing 
bipedal  sympathizers. 

Then  the  relict  of  the  late  Ebeneezer  the  Second  held  the 
reinvigorated  pony  by  the  head  and  encouragingly  patted 
him  upon  his  head  and  foretop,  while  Dave,  having  gotten 
into  the  sleigh,  gathered  up  the  reins,  and  tucking  in  a  well 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


93 


nigh  hairless  old  yellow  bufTalo  skin  closely  about  his 
unpoetic,  dumpy  body,  was  ready  for  the  wanning  up,  just 
ns  tl»e  fat  judge  called  out:  "What's  de  maltaire  dare, 
Dawveed  ?  Eef  you  doan  hurray  up  wo  not  goan  got  trough 
to-night,  for  suro!'' 

"All  rnghtl  All  raglitl"  yelled  Mr.  Doble,  junior,  in 
reply;  "Lefi  go  hees  head,  MeessesI'* 

"  Say,  Dawveed ! "  excitedly  excl  rned  the  widow  as  she 
let  the  anxious  pony's  head  go,  and  ii  rriedly  going  to  the 
side  of  the  cutter  (  unconsciously  adopting  Enp'ish  in  her 
flurry  )  she  audibly  whispered  :  '  Wlion  you  gits  up  to  do 
tartin  poss,  Dawveed,  call  Moyees  L:  leur  to  wan  side  au 
wheespear  to  heem  dat  eef  he  doan  c^eeve  you  good  start, 
Ah  goan  mac  heem  pay  dat  monnay  i  right  away  I  Iloes 
know  what  you  mean!  Mine  you  doan  forgib  dot,  Daw- 
veed 1"  And  David,  nodding  his  coon  skin  cap  in  assenr^ 
gave  the  old  horse  his  head  and  drove  rapidly  up  the  track 
towards  the  starting  post. 

It  may  be  well  here,  by  way  of  explanation  of  this  final 
enjoinder  of  the  widow's  to  mention  the  fact  that  Moses 
Lafleur,  one  of  the  starting  judges,  was  a  delinquent  debtor 
of  hers  in  the  sum  of  six  dollars  for  an  alleged  well-bred 
ram  lamb. 

And  now  all  was  in  readiness  for  the  start  for  the  second 
heat. 

Jack  Rathbone,  still  radiant  with  pride  and  excitement, 
had  secured  a  seat  along-side  his  friend  Peter  Bertrand,  on 
top  of  a  peddler's  van  sleigh;  while  his  campagnon  de  voyage 
and  fdus  achates,  Charley  Ford,  true  to  his  expressed  deter- 
mination, had  become  the  cavalier  of  Eosalie  Martin,  and 


■  }■ " 


'ii\:m 


u 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


shortly  after  their  arrival  at  the  track  they  had  joined  a  jolly 
party  of  by  no  means  ill-looking  girls,  who  had^  a  com- 
fortable double-box  sleigh  with  plenty  of  straw  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  and  was  otherwise  supplied  with  robes  and 
wraps,  all  to  themselvea 

The  sleigh  had  been  pulled  up  about  a  hundred  yards 
from  the  winning  post  immediately  alongside  of  the  last 
quarter  stretch  and  here,  as  the  solitary  male  guardian 
escort,  apart  from  the  old  habitant  driver  and  chaperon, 
father  of  one  of  the  girls,  Mr.  Ford  wa:;  in  his  most 
acceptable  element  ,  » 

Indeed  this  young  gentleman  was  essentially  a  ladies'  man 
and  ever  on  the  alert  for  conquests  among  the  fair  sex.  He 
was  a  tall,  well  developed,  light  haired  youth,  a  year  or  two 
older  than  young  Rathbone,  whom  he  sufficiently  resembled 
to  be  easily  taken  for  his  brother,  and  in  fact,  strangers 
meeting  them  lor  the  first  time  together  invariably  set  them 
down  as  eminating  from  one  common  parental  source.  They 
were,  however,  the  very  opposite  of  each  other  in  respect  of 
their  tastes  and  inclinations,  a  not  very  infrequent  peculiarity 
between  near  friends — and  from  their  childhood  up  had 
been  boon  companions.  Young  Ford  had  often  accompanied 
Jack  Rathbone  on  the  latter's  frequent  shooting  and  fish- 
ing outings  over  the  border  into  Canada,  not  so  much  because 
of  his  fondness  for  fishing  or  field  sports  as  for  his  love  for 
the  incidental  adventures  these  expeditions  sometimes 
afforded. 

"  Hello  there.  Jack !"  called  out  this  dude-like  Lothario 
from  his  seat  amidst  the  bevy  of  girls. 

"Hello  yourself,  "  shouted  Jack  back  cheerily. 


BORDE..  CANUCKS. 


95 


" These  young  ladies,  "  yelled  Mr.  Ford  "want  to  know 
whether  we  won't  stop  for  the  dance  at  the  widow's  to-night. 
They  say  it's  going  to  be  a  grand  allair.  I  tell  them  it  all 
depends  upon  you,  and  they  want  to  know  what  you're 
going  to  do  about  it?" 

"  Time  enough  to  answer  that  after  the  race  is  over!"  cried 
Jack,  "but  I  know  I'll  catch  Jessie  if  I  don't  get  home 
to-night  I" 

And  then  Mr.  Ford  was  subjected  to  a  rigid  cross- 
examination  by  his  fair  companions  as  to  who  the  inevitable 
Jessie  was  who  stood  so  imminent  a  chance  of  catching  so 
desirable  a  parti  as  "  Monsieur  Jack  Ratbone.  " 

"  Clar  de  track !  Clar  de  track !"  shouted  the  fat  judge 
after  one  of  his  confreres  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
noisy  crowd  by  demonstratively  ringing  the  resonant  dinner 
bell.  "  Clar  de  track  I  Got  hoff  de  way !  de  horses  ees  bote 
at  de  startin  poss  and  weel  be  comin  een  a  meenit  now  I 
Git  to  wan  side  or  udder,  you  folkes  what  stan  een  de  meedle 
of  de  road  dare!  Clar  de  track  genseemani  Got  hoff  de 
way,  mes  amis. 

"Dare  hoff!  Dare  hoff!  Dare  dey  goes!  Hooray!" 
shouted  a  maudlin  old  countryman,  whose  ^^'^rsistent  prac- 
tice at  the  bar  of  the  widow's  hostelry  throughout  the  day 
had  rendered  him  totally  unable  to  distinguish  a  hole  in  a 
ladder  fifty  feet  away.  None  the  less,  the  crowd  took  up 
the  refrain  "  Dare  off!  Dare  off !  Clar  de  track,  here  dey 
comes!"  and  all  was  eager,  palpitating  excitement  among 
the  abbreviated  specimens  of  the  crowd  and  those  who,  not 
being  upon  bome  elevated  foothold,  were  unable  to  see  any- 


w 


iii  : 


111!!,  ' 


96 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


thing  of  what  was  going  on  at  the  starting  score  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  track. 

There  were  a  great  many  false  alarms  of  this  kind  among 
the  thickest  of  the  gathering  along  the  quarter  stretch  before 
the  word  was  given  for  the  start — as  much  time  having  been 
consumed  in  scoring  as  often  aggravatingly  takes  place  in 
an  important  race  for  a  large  purse  upon  the  regular  turf. 

When,  however,  the  ponies  did  get  away,  as  in  the  first 
heat,  Crapaud  had  rather  the  best  of  it,  thus  making  it  a 
fair  matter  for  speculation  whether  or  not  Monsieur  Moses 
Lafleur's  ram  lamb  indebtedness  to  the  widow  had  at  all 
influenced  him  in  the  exercise  of  his  judicial  futictions. 

However  that  may  be,  Crapaud  did  not  long  retain  his 
advantage,  for  the  chestnut,  coming  with  a  rush,  soon  lapped 
him,  and  they  paced  on  side  and  side — their  drivers  sending 
forth  the  most  unearthly  j^ells — to  the  half  mile. 

Here,  owing  to  a  little  unsteadiness  on  the  part  of  "dat 
leetle  chesnut  plug,"'  Crapaud  got  a  slight  lead — perhaps 
half  a  length  or  so — which  he  held  to  the  commencement  of 
the  last  quarter,  amidst  the  approving  yells  and  acclama- 
tions of  the  widow's  division  of  the  assembled  crowd  along 
the  stretch.  But  the  poor  old  horse's  bolt  was  shot,  how- 
ever, for  the  newly,  christened  "Jack  Rathbone,"  coming 
with  an  unprecedented  burst  of  speed,  threw  the  old  fellow 
off  his  feet,  utterly  demoralized  and  unable  to  regain  his 
lost  advantage,  while  the  little  chestnut,  coming  on  as  steady 
as  a  steam  motor,  crossed  the  score  four  or  five  lengths  to 
the  good,  amidst  the  wildest  shouts  of  excited  approbation. 

Then  there  was  a  rush  and  a  scramble  for  positions  as 
near  as  possible  to  the  judges'  sleigh,  as  the  victorious  chest- 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


97 


nut,  having  stopped  and  turned  about,  was  being  led  back 
to  the  winning  post  by  his  highly  elated  owner. 

This  was  a  triumphal  march  difficult  of  accomplishment, 
owing  to  the  eager  desire  of  every  man  and  boy  composing 
the  concourse  of  enthusiasts  through  v/hich  the  victor  had 
to  pass,  to  put  their  hands  upon  him  or  give  him  a  pat  of 
approval 

But  with  poor  old  Crapaud,  how  different  was  it  I 

The  heretofore  invincible  victor  of  many  a  hard-fought 
contest  had  come  to  grief.  He  had  again  cut  his  quarter, 
this  time  far  worse  than  in  the  first  heat,  and  the  blood 
trickled  down  from  his  near  fore  foot,  as  with  bowed  head 
he  held  it  up  off  the  ice  in  manifest  pain.  Mr.  Budd  Doble, 
junior,  his  driver,  had  gotten  out  of  the  cutter  and,  uncheck- 
ing  him,  stood  at  his  head  patting  his  drooping  neck  in 
helpless  sympathy,  as  dejected  looking  as  the  poor  old  horse 
himself — while  the  widow  bent  over  the  injured  foot  in  tear- 
ful and  speechless  lamentation.  Evidently  her  idolized 
Crapaud  was  hors  de  combat,  and  to  start  him  for  the  third 
heat  would  be  too  cruel  to  think  of. 

Silently  she  turned  from  this  melancholy  spectacle  and, 
going  to  the  judges,  she  announced  her  withdrawal  of  her 
horse  and  her  relinquishment  of  the  stakes  in  accents  broken 
with  irrepressible  grief. 

After  a  short  consultation  among  themselves,  the  resonant 
clangettay-clang  of  the  dinner  bell  again  arose  above  the 
din  of  excitement,  presaging  a  judicial  pronunciamento  of 
some  sort 

Monsieur  Badeeshow,  the  Falstaffian  spokesman-judge, 
having  struggled  to  his  feet  on  the  forward  seat  of  the  judicial 

7 


.i  ^;,, 


98 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


sleigh,  after  comparatively  silent  attention  was  secured, 
cleared  his  throat  and  said,  •  Genseemans!  Madame  Martin 
have  witdrawed  Crapaud  iiom  de  race  an  geeve  hup  de 
stake  I" 

This  announcement  was  met  with  conflicting  acclamations 
of  approval  and  loudly  vehement  expressions  of  dissent, 
and  the  judge  could  deliver  nothing  further  of  his  pro- 
nunciamento  and  be  heard. 

Those  who  had  bet  upon  the  little  chestnut,  or  who  were 
otherwise  in  sympathy  with  Peter  Bertrand,  were  unstinted 
in  their  expressions  of  approval  of  the  widow's  course  in 
withdrawing  Crapaud  from  the  contest. 

It  was  the  very  thing  she  ought  to  have  done,  because  he 
did  not  stand  the  ghost  of  a  show  to  win.  While  those 
who  had  bet  upon  the  poor  old  horse  said  the  whole  thing 
was  a  put  up  job  to  rob  them  of  their  money,  and  the 
individual  sportsmen  among  this  division  who  had  respect- 
ively lost  all  the  way  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  and  seventy- 
five  cents  were  especially  chagrined  and  loudly  demonstra- 
tive in  their  manifestations  of  disapproval. 

At  one  time  the  hub-bub  arising  from  these  contentious 
expressions  of  opinion  appeared  to  forebode  a  free  fight,  and 
the  atmosphere  seemed  redolent  of  war;  but  happily  the 
dogs  were  not  slipped  and  the  cloud  rolled  by. 

After  much  vociferous  ringing  of  the  dinner  bell,  which, 
for  a  time  rather  contributed  to  the  pandemonium-like  con- 
dition of  things  than  otherwise,  the  judge,  by  dint  of  not  a 
little  violent  gesticulatory  yelling,  succeeded  in  calming  the 
crowd  sufficiently  to  proceed  with  what  he  *had  to  say, 
"GenseemanI  mesamisi  Silence  un  moment i  Wan  horse," 


mmm 


f 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


99 


i. 


he  continued,  "coo'nt  run  agin  heemseff !  (Cfe  bien  vrais!  Ce 
la  verite  from  the  crowd.)  Wan  horse  coo'nt  pass  heemseff 
een  de  race.  (Dat's  a  fac.)  Wan  horse  coo'nt  come 
behine  heemseff  een  wan  race!  {Vous  avez  raisoni  Pour 
le  sure.  )  Needer  go  head  ov  heemseff  I  ( Dat's  a  fac ! 
Bullay  for  you  ole  boy.)  Een  faceetwas  amposseeb  to  have 
a  race  baytween  two  horse  eef  wan  ov  dem  wus  drawed  hoff 
dat  race!"  and  the  judgt  here  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
extended  his  outstretched  palms  to  the  full  length  of  his 
short  fat  arms  in  forensic  attitude  over  the  heads  of  the 
nearest  of  his  audience,  the  same  being  loud  in  its  expres- 
sions of  acceptance  or  rejection  of  so  self-apparent  a  plati- 
tude. "So  on  konseekonce  of  dat,"  continued  Mons. 
Badeeshow,  "sence  Madame  Martin  have  witdra wed  Cra- 
paud  from  de  race,  an  geeve  hup  all  she's  clam  ov  de  stake, 
we  have  deecide  to  geeve  dees  heat  an  de  race  to  de  horse 
ov  Monsieur  Pierro  Bertrand,  which  eet  wus  now  call  bah  de 
nam  ov  'Jack  Ratbone, '  an  so  she's  feeneesh  !" 

^^  Hoorah  pour  Jack  Ralhoiie!  II  a  gwjner!^^  shouted  a 
large  majority  of  the  dispersing  crowd. 

*'  Hoorah  pour  Pierro  Bertrand  T^  yelled  the  thirsty,  impe- 
cunious division. 

"  Hoorah  pour  Jack  Raihone  f^  again  and  again.  Verily, 
a  new  hero  had  arisen  in  the  land ! 

Poor,  maimed  old  Crapaud,  who  had  so  long  held  the 
blue  ribbon  of  the  local  ice  races  for  his  sportive  mistress, 
had  been  deposed,  and  "  dat  leetle  chesnut  plug  "  was  the 
hero  of  the  hour. 

Le  rot  est  mort  /     Vive  le  roi! 

Standing  at  the  outskirts  of  the  rapidly  thinning  crowd, 


:# 


m 


100 


BOIiDEU  CANUCKS. 


near  to  where  Jack  Rathbone,  the  biped,  and  Charley  Ford 
were  discussing  the  question  of  going  home  or  staying  to  the 
ball  at  the  widow's  in  the  evening,  there  stood  a  somewhat 
dilapidated  looking  old  habitant,  apparently  slightly  over- 
come from  gazing  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red.  Indeed, 
from  his  appearance  he  might  have  been  Bacchus  himself 
in  sufficiently  characteristic  and  ante-diluvian  habiliments. 

He  was  rotund  of  form,  round  of  face  and  rubicund  of 
complexion.  He  was  dressed  in  a  large,  brownish-grey 
homespun  overcoat  with  capuschon  and  red  seams,  which  was 
fastened  about  his  obese  waist  with  what  i,-  known  as  a  rain- 
bow sash — one  of  many  striped  colors.  He  wore  long- 
legged  shoepacs,  into  the  legs  of  which  his  ample  trousers 
were  stuffed,  and  on  his  head,  pulled  as  far  down  over  his 
ears  as  it  would  go,  was  a  much-worn  muskrat  skin  cap. 
His  beard  was  normally  grey,  but  that  portion  of  it  imme- 
diately below  his  capacious  mouth  was  bronzed  with  the 
burnished  hue  produced  by  the  trickling  of  much  "  black- 
strap "  tobacco  juice. 

He  had  backed  the  Widow  Martin's  Crapaud ! 

He  had  lost  1  Aye,  Sapnsti,  every  sou  he  had  in  the 
world  I     And  now  he  felt  like  an  impecunious  veurien. 

He  could  only  abandon  himself  to  grief  and  vain  discom- 
forting regrets. 

He  came  to  the  race  in  good  time  in  the  morning  with  a 
superabundance  of  confidence  in  Crapaud's  capacity  to  shut 
out  Peter  Bertrand's  colt  in  the  first  heat,  and  the  whole  of 
one  dollar  away  down  in  his  inside  pants'  pocket. 

One  half  of  this  capital  he  had  bet  on  the  old  horse  with 
a  friend  of  his,  a  Windsor  butcher ;  the  other  half  he  had 


5- 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


101 


k 


}iut  down  inside  of  himself.  At  least  lie  had  started  it  in  a 
downward  direction  all  right  enough,  but  from  the  way  he 
felt  he  strongly  suspected  that  some  of  it  must  have  circu- 
lated around  until  it  found  lodgement  in  his  head.  He  felt 
so  top  heavy,  and  things — men  and  sleighs  and  horses — 
seemed  so  jumbled  up  and  unsteady  on  their  pins. 

He  could  see  better  with  one  eye  shut,  but  Afon  Dieu  ! 
Hon  Dieu  I  how  thirsty  he  was!  If  he  could  only  get  one 
drink  of  hoisson  it  would  straighten  him  right  up,  and  then 
he  could  take  his  conge  and  go  right  away  home. 

Mais  un  petit  fillais  avant  de  partir  was  absoluement  neces- 
saire  I 

Ah !  "Who  was  that  sitting  in  that  fine  cutter  over  there? 
Tie  would  shut  one  eye  and  take  a  good  look.  Aw,  voildl 
It  was  the  Windsor  butcher,  who  had  won  his  fifty  cents  I 
The  man  who  had  reduced  him  at  once  to  the  ignominious 
condition  of  a  disappointed  Canadien  Francais^  and  a  thirsty 
pauper  I  Suppose  he  went  over  and  congratulated  the 
butcher  upon  having  won  his  fifty  cents.  Wonder  if  he'd 
take  the  hint?  Perhaps  he  might,  and  if  he  did  he'd  ask 
him  to  drink  with  him,  and  pay  for  it  with  his  (Bacchus') 
own  alienated  fifty  cents.  At  all  events,  there  would  be  no 
harm  in  trying  the  experiment.  ^^  Allons  f  En  avant!  Ho!^^ 

Sat  the  butcher  in  a  fashionable,  well-appointed  Portland 
cutter,  with  a  wolf  skin  robe  pulled  high  up,  and  closely 
tucked  in  about  his  burly  form. 

In  the  shafts  before  him,  quietly  stood  pretty  Butcher 
Maid,  brown  of  coat  and  speedy  of  gait. 

The  butcher's  good-natured  face  is  suggestive  of  cherubs 
and  good  things  to  eat,  with  an  occasional  glass  of  "  bittah 


ft 


'  '"wT^i^K 


102 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


beeah "  thrown  in,  while  the  mare  and  sleigh  bring  back 
to  memory  many  happy  reminiscences  of  pleasant  rural 
drives  and  hair  breadth  'scapes  in  dashes  for  the  lead  on 
Detroit's  Lafayette  avenue. 

"Hallo  Porteur!  (hie)"  said  our  thirsty  supporter  of  Cra- 
paud,  as  he  balanced  up  towards  the  cutter,  "  Ah  guess  you 
ween  dat  monnah,  ay?" 

"What  money,  boss?"  enquired  this  knight  of  the  block 
and  cleaver,  as  he  turned  his  head  from  a  knot  of  admirers 
he  had  been  talking  to  and  gazed  upon  Bacchus.  ^ 

"  Why  dat  monnah  you  wus  bet  (hie)  wit  me  I" 

"  Let  me  see, "  ruminated  Sir  Knight,  "  how  much  was  it 
Boss?" 

"(Hic)Feeftay  cen!(hic.)" 

"Oh,  sugar!  fifty  cents,  ay,  boss?" 

"  Yas  (hic),  an  b;ih  gosh  !  (hie)  dat's  buss  me !"» 

"  Bust  you,  ay  ?  Well,  that's  too  bad;  but  you're  not  going 
to  kick  about  it,  are  you  boss?" 

"  Keek  about  eet  (hic),  "  indignantly  exclaimed  Bacchus 
as  he  steadied  himself  by  grasping  the  side  of  the  cutter. 

"What  you  took  me  (hic)  for?  No  sirree  Monsieur  I 
(hic.)" 

"  You're  no  quitter  are  you  ?"  queried  Sir  Knight  ser- 
iously. 

"No  sair,  ah'm  no  queeteur!  (hic)  Ah  nevaire  fleesh 
undair(hic)  de  flag  Breeteesh,  lac  ole  Charllo  Deedeen  wus 
use  ter  say. " 

"That's  right,  "  approvingly  exclaimed  the  owner  of 
Butcher  Maid,  "  I  always  thought  you  were  a  stayer  boss !" 


BOUDElt  CANUCKS. 


103 


"  Aw,  yas,  hcvery  tam !  (hie)  you's  bet,  mats  Porteur, 
(hie)  All  goan  toll  you  wan  ting  (liic).  " 

"What's  that,  Boss?" 

"  Well,  bah  gosh,  (hie)  Ah  was  mighty  dry,  dat's  a  fac  I 
(Uic)  "  whispered  Bacchus  confidentially. 

"  Dry  are  you  ?'* 

"  Yas,  jews  lac  powder  horn.  " 

"  Well,  get  right  in  here  Boss,  "  said  Sir  Knight  as  he  let 
the  robe  down  and  moved  to  make  room  for  the  "  powder 
born  "  on  the  seat  alongside  him,  "  we'll  drive  over  to  the 
widow's  and  I'll  buy  u  drink. '' 

"What!  you  wus  goan  treet  me?"  queried  Bacchus,  his 
face  lighting  up  with  a  momentary  flash  of  pleasurable  an- 
ticipation, mingled  with  satisfaction  at  the  rapidly  successful 
result  of  his  little  scheme. 

"  Why  of  course,  "  replied  the  jolly  knight,  "  what  do 
you  take  me  for  ?     I'm  no  hog  I" 

"Oh,  no.  Monsieur  Porteur  I  you  wus  no  hog  (hie)  fur 
sure,  '*  exclaimed  Bacchus  as  he  scrambled  in  beside  the 
other,  "but  you  wuss  fuss  class  butcher  dough.  Iloorah! 
Hoorah  pour  nous  autresT  and  as  Butcher  Maid  rapidly 
headed  towards  the  widow's  hostelry,  he  scratched  off  hia 
seedy  old  muskrat  cap,  and  waving  it  aloft  at  the  dispersing 
crowd  again  gave  vent  to  his  superabundant  satisfaction  in 
repeated  cheers  for  "  nous  autres^ "  and  the  assurance,  "  Ah 
nevaire  fleesh  undeur  de  flag  Breeteesh.  Am  no  queeteur! 
(hie)  Dat's  de  kin  ov  a  mans  Ah  am,  bah  gosh  I  (hie)  Ain't 
eet  Monsieur  Porteur  ?  Yep  1  Yep  1" 

Thus  the  beautifully  bright  and  dazzling  day  was  draw- 
ing to  its  early  close. 


104 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


<1!    ' 


So  much  time  had  been  consumed  in  tlio  appointment  of 
mutually  acceptable  judges,  and  the  satisfactory  settlement 
of  other  preliminaries  before  tlie  horses  started  in  the  match 
(  between  the  heats  of  which  several  impromptu  scrub  races 
had  been  allowed  to  take  place  ),  tliat  by  tlie  time  the  Fal- 
staffian  Judge  Badeeshow  delivered  himself  of  his  final 
mandate,  the  blazing  sun  was  rapidly  nearing  his  southern 
resting  place  beneath  the  glowing  red  horizon. 

And  now,  the  shadows  having  attained  their  maximum 
length,  the  shades  of  evening  were  fast  stealing  on,  and  as 
the  southwest  wind  freshened  and  wafted  a  colder  tempera- 
ture from  ofif  the  bosom  of  the  vast  frozen  lake,  Old  Sol  bid 
his  last  adieu  to  the  memorable  day,  which  marked  the 
defeat  of  the  Widow  Mr.rtin's  famous  pacing  pony,  Crapaud, 
by  Peter  Bertrand's  chestnut  colt  on  the  ice  on  Lake  St. 
Clair. 


■i 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Widows  Ball 

T"ACK  RATHBONE  had  been  persuaded  into  remain- 
^-^  ing  over  for  the  widow's  ball,  much  against  his  own 
better  judgement,  knowing  as  he  did  that  the  mythical 
Jessie,  who  had  so  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  girls  on  the 
quarter  stretch,  would  impatiently  await  him  at  the  paternal 
mansion,  armed  cap-a-pie,  if  he  did  not  show  up  there,  figur- 
atively speaking,  ere  curfew  sounded  lights  out  that  night. 

But  the  persuasive  eloquence  of  Charley  Ford  and  the 
blandishments  of  his  acquaintances  among  the  young  ladies, 
to  say  nothing  of  his  sympathy  for  the  sportive  widow  in 
her  bereavement  and  concern  for  poor  old  Crapaud,  in  his 
lamentable  plight,  were  far  too  potent  influences  to  success- 
fully resist  in  his  present  frame  of  mind. 

The  christening  and  subsequent  victory  of  his  equine 
namesake  had  given  him  that  sort  of  feeling  of  intense 
elation,  which  inspires  to  deeds  of  gallantry  and  disregard 
of  consequencea 

Charley  Ford,  in  his  pleadings  that  they  should  stop  over 
for  the  dance,  had  said  that  Blanche  Bertrand,  Peter's  vivac- . 
iously  pretty  daughter,  had  assured  him  that  if  he  didn't, 
remain  over  to  it  she  would  get  her  father  to  withdraw  from 
the  pony  Jack  Rathbone's  name,  and  call  him  after  some 
more  obliging  personage. 

(105) 


I 


|.? 


•'■U' 


Wi' 


10« 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


To  this  Jack  answered,  "Oh,  shawl  I'll  bet  Peter 
wouldn't  do  that  Wliy,  I  have,  ah — ay — "  and  he  was  just 
going  to  mention  his  promise  of  the  horse  blanket,  but  he 
checked  himself  in  time,  as  the  thought  flashed  upon  him 
that  it  had  best  be  left  unsaid,  else  his  very  much  magnified 
honor  might  be  belittled  into  a  very  empty  afTair,  indeed. 

Boy  like,  he  felt  embarrassed,  and  he  was  conscious  of 
the  blood  tingling  in  his  cheeks  and  ears,  as  evincing  his 
discomfiture ;  while  tlie  gathering  suspicion  that  he  was  a 
very  near  approach  to  a  fraud,  began  to  assert  itself  upon 
his  inner  ideality. 

But  this,  of  course,  was  purely  due  to  the  fact  of  his  still 
being  a  comparatively  unsophisticated  boy,  unacquainted 
with  this  fleeting  show's  methods  of  the  why  and  the  where- 
fore of  the  bestowal  of  honors. 

If  he  lived  to  some  day  become  a  politician  and  had  a 
"  doubtful  "  constituency  in  congress  or  parliament  offered 
him,  he  would  have  to  get  bravely  over  any  maudlin  senti- 
mentality or  pricks  of  conscience  in  respect  of  the  purchase 
of  earthly  honors  before  he  could  judiciously  accept  the 
proffer. 

Peradventure  he  might  some  day  get  to  understand  that 
his  promise  of  the  horse  blanket,  provided  Peter  named  the 
little  chestnut  after  him,  was  a  transaction  strongly  typical 
of  well-nigh  every  phase  of  relationship  in  life,  and  that  the 
fundamental  plank  in  the  platform  of  modern  social  ethics 
is  that  you  shall  scratch  my  back  if  I  scratch  yours  I 

Albeit  Master  Jack  Rathbone  had  not  as  yet  become 
acquainted  with  the  process  of  Time's  tempering  crucible  as 
afforded  by  daily  contact  with  men  and  things  in  the  real 


UOIIDLH  CANUCKS. 


107 


buttle  of  life,  he  vvns,none  theless,  from  the  fountain  of  liis  bet- 
ter ''organism  undefiled,"  moved  to  feel  somewhat  conseienco 
stricken  wlien  it  first  flashed  upon  him  that  the  faneied 
lienor  recently  conferred  upon  him  by  the  guileless  Peter 
Bertrand  was  simply  a  purchased  bit  of  empty  immater- 
ialism. 

Still  he  withheld  any  reference  to  the  horse  blanket  and 
wound  up  his  unfinished  reply  to  Charley  Ford's  cha£f  in 
respect  of  Blanche  Bertrand's  threat  as  to  the  change  of 
the  J  riy's  name  by  saying,  "Oh  never  mind,  I'll  tell  you 
about  it  some  other  time.  " 

"But  you've  made  up  your  mind  to  stop  for  tbe  ball, 
haven't  you  old  chap  ?"  persuasively  queried  the  festive  Mr. 
Ford. 

"Oh,  yes,  I'll  stop,  but  I  know  that  my  doing  so  means 
the  devil  to  pay  when  I  get  home.  You  know  how  down 
the  governor  has  been  on  me  of  late,  and  I  know  that  when 
he  finds  out  that  I  have  been  here  at  all  to-day  he'll  want  to 
annihilate  me. " 

"  Well  he's  sure  to  find  that  out,  "  remonstrated  the  other, 
"and  you  might  as  well  be  killed  for  a  sheep  as  a  lamb.  I 
know  that  my  mother  will  be  as  mad  as  a  meat  ax  when 
she  realizes  that  I  am  not  to  be  home  to-night  to  go  to 
church  with  her  in  the  morning,  as  I  invariably  do  every 
Sunday,  as  you  know  when  I'm  in  the  city  but  I  should 
have  been  prepared  to  risk  a  good  deal  rather  than  miss 
this  ball  to-night.  I'm  sure  we're  going  to  have  a  great  time 
and  lots  of  fun.  " 

"  Well  I  dare  say  youm  enjoy  yourself,  "  replied  Jack 
dismally,  "  because  you  go  in  strong  for  girls'  society,  but 


108 


BORDEK   CANUCKS. 


I'm  blowed  if  it  isn't  a  bore  half  the  time  to  me  to  be 
among  the  petticoats.  The  only  girl  I  care  about  meeting 
and  talking  to  in  the  city  is  that  fat,  ungainly  specimen  of 
incipient  womanhood,  Emily  Eitter.  " 

"Emily  Ritter!"  exclaimed  Charley  deprecatingly,  "you 
might  well  describe  her  as  an  ungainly  specimen  of  woman- 
hood !  She's  my  abomination,  and  whenever  I  see  that 
lovely  little  sister  Grace  of  yours  and  she  together,  the 
story  of  the  beauty  and  the  beast  always  suggests  itself.  " 

"Yes,  I  quite  agree  with  you  that  there's  a  great  contrast 
between  the  two,  but  then  Emily's  got  more  wit  and  fun  in 
her  little  finger  than  any  other  girl  I  ever  met  possessed  in 
her  whole  composition." 

"She's  got  a  long  tongue,  if  that's  what  you  mean!" 
snapped  Mr.  Ford,  with  keen  recollections  of  Miss  Ritter's 
capacity  for  caustic  chaff. 

"  Yes,  and  it's  as  witty  as  it  is  long,"  smilingly  observed 
Jack. 

"Well,  you're  welcome  to  her,  tongue  and  all,"  laugh- 
ingly remarked  Charley,  as  he  hurried  away  to  join  the 
bevy  of  girls  in  the  large  box-sleigh,  who  were  anxiously 
awaiting  his  report  of  the  result  of  his  conference  with  Jack 
in  reference  to  their  remaining  for  the  ball. 

This  conversation  had  taken  place  at  the  track  on  the  ice 
just  after  the  race  was  over,  and  now  evening  had  come, 
and  for  Jack  Rathbone  the  active  ephemeral  enjoyment  of 
this  expedition  was  over ;  but  he  would  stop  at  all  hazards 
and  endeavor  to  make  himself  agreeable  and  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  the  ball. 

Yet  the  all-pervading  feeling  he  had  within  him  that  he 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


109 


was  doing  that  which  he  should  not  do,  by  not  goiug  home 
at  once,  would  continually  struggle  for  supremacy  with  his 
desire  to  enjoy  himself. 

And  it  was  in  this  negative  frame  of  mind,  begotten  of 
these  conflicting  feelings,  that  he  sat  down  to  a  sumptuous 
supper  of  fresh  fish  and  new-laid  eggs,  and  an  endless 
variety  of  pies,  cakes,  jams  and  confitures^  which  well-nigh 
hid  the  immaculate  table  cloth  from  view 

The  dining  room  was  to  be  the  ball  room  of  the  evening, 
and  after  the  repast  the  chairs  and  dining  table  were 
removed,  and  a  large,  empty,  squart  deal  box,  brought  in 
from  outside,  placed  in  the  ni^rtheast,  corr-jr  of  the  room, 
and  a  solitary  chair  put  thereon  for  the  band. 

The  band  was  a  pock-marked,  ruddy-faced  little  French- 
man, with  onion-like  looking  eyes  that  never  blinked  but 
siared,  not  unkindly,  at  anything  and  everything  they  fas- 
tened themselves  upon  with  imperturbable  absorption. 

He  was  evidently  a  man  of  great  good-nature,  and 
inclined  to  take  life  pleasantly,  as  the  mischievous  smile 
which  played  about  the  capacious  orifice,  which  served  the 
purposes  of  a  mouth  in  the  feeding  of  a  corpulent  stomach 
au  1  abdomen,  would  seem  to  indicate. 

He  was  a  rural  fiddler  by  profession,  and  an  imbiber  of 
strong  fluids  whenever  opportunity  offered.  He  had  had  a 
successful  day  in  the  latter  capacity  to-day,  and  he  was  now 
disposed  to  be  jocund,  not  to  say  hilarious. 

On  first  entering  the  ball  room  from  the  bar,  after  a 
modest  little  "  Hoop,  la !  Yep,  Yep  I "  he  proceeded  to 
shullle  his  shoepacked  feet  in  a  sort  of  pas  seul,  until  his 


110 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


breathings  suggested  the  exhaust  outside  of  an  over-charged 


n' 


steam  engine. 


This,  however,  was  soon  put  a  stop  to  by  the  widow,  who 
swooped  down  upon  him  and  marched  him  oft"  to.the  ros- 
trum in  the  northeast  corner,  from  whence  he  was  told  not 
^o  move,  but  to  tune  up  and  make  ready  for  the  first 
quadrille. 

•'  Bah  gosh  1  Meesses, "  he  gasped  in  remonstrance,  "  Ali 
nevaire  see  nobody  lac  you  beefor!  You  wus  all  datam  stop 
it  a  feller  from  anjy  heemseff.  " 

"  Taissez  vousV*  exclaimed  the  .widow  per  Jtorily,  as 
she  stamped  her  foot  upon  the  floor,  and  then  to  Jack 
Rathbone,  who  had  just  now  approached  her,  she  said  with 
an  affectation  of  temper  and  scorn,  as  she  pointed  her 
finger  at  the  gasping  orchestra,  "  Monsieur  Ratbone  dat  ees 
de  moss  trooblesome,  ole  wortless  ting  datscome  about  mah 
house !" 

"  What !"  exclaimed  the  band  as  with  difficulty  he  rose 
from  the  chair  on  the  box  upon  which  he  had  that  instant 
sat  down,  •' What !  you  calls  me  wortless  ole  ting  does  you 
Meeses?  Well  bah  gosh !  den  you  kin  git  someboday  helse 
to  play  for  dees  dance  I"  and  as  he  proceeded  to  descend 
from  the  rostrum  he  added,  "eef  Ah  wus  wortless  ole  ting, 
mah  moosique  muss  be  wortless  too,  bah  gosh  1"  As  he 
was  about  to  deposit  his  fiddle  and  bow  in  their  pine  deal 
box  Jack  Rathbone  took  him  in  hand  and  by  dint  of  much 
persuasion  and  the  gift  of  a  silver  dollar  induced  him  to 
remain  and  tune  up. 

This  operation  of  tuning  up  by  a  rural  fiddler  is  by  no 
means  a  matter  of  small  importance  to  be  hurried  over  per- 


'if-  'Ay.:-  ■  /S! 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Ill 


functorily.  Its  duration  much  depends  upon  the  temper  of 
the  fiddler  and  the  tenacity  of  the  cat-gut  involved. 

If  the  former  is  out  of  temper  the  latter  will  fail  of  the 
requisite  tenacity  for  the  occasion  and  the  absorption  of 
much  time  is  the  inevitable  result. 

In  this  instance  the  fiddler  was  rufiled,  and  the  cat-gut 
manifestly  in  sympathy  with  his  perturbed  mental  and 
moral  condition. 

As  he  assayed  to  see-saw  each  string  up  or  down  to  cord 
with  tooth-edged,  soul-disturbirg  discord  he  audibly  mut- 
tered to  himself,  "  call  me  wortless  ole  ting  eh  ?  Ah  goan 
show  heur  eef  Ah  wus  wortless  ole  ting  ou  no  I  Ah  wus 
glad  she  wus  beat  to-day  I  Serve  heur  raght,  bah  gosh  !  Calls 
me  wortless  ole  ting  eh?  Waugh!"  and  away  would  go  a 
string  with  a  startling  snap  as  if  in  resounding  harmony 
with  these  vengeful  mutterings. 

Then  after  grunting  and  perspiring  the  patched  cat-gut 
back  into  place  again,  he  would  slowly  and  deliberately, 
and  with  oscillating  under  jaw  screw  it  up  again,  and  resume 
his  direful  mutterings  in  respect  of  the  widow,  until  another 
snap  of  the  string  and  a  vehement  point  of  exclamation  was 
reached — and  so  on,  da  capo. 

Meanwhile  the  guests  of  the  evening  were  rapidly 
arriving — among  them  Peter  Bertrand,  who  had  come  to 
chaperone  his  pretty  daughter  Blanche,  .  nd  as  he  con- 
fidentially communicated  to  Jack,  "shook  mah  foot  lac  Ah 
use  to  do  when  Ah  wus  young  mans.  " 

"  Well,  but  you're  not  old  Peter, "  remonstrated  Jack, 
"you  don't  look  more  than  forty.  " 

"  Fortay !    Aw,  Bon  Dieu  I    Ah  hav  moss  tweutay  year 


1^ 


I 


112 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


,;l 


more  as  dat  I  Jews  bout  de  sam  age  as  de  Widday  Martin 
hav." 

"Well,  the  widow  doesn't  look  more  than  forty -five." 

"Aw,  yas,  she  doan  look  much  oler  dan  dat  Mais  she's 
hav  bout  feeftay-faf  ou  feeftay-seex  year  hole.'* 

"I'll  bet  she  doesn't  feel  more  than  forty,"  remarked 
Jack. 

"  No,  sair ;  sometam  Ah  guess  she  doan  feel  more  dan 
sexteen,"  said  Peter  with  a  chuckle;  "but  she  say  she  have 
geeve  hup  dancin.  You  see  eef  she  have  geeve  hup  dancin 
ou  no  beef  or  dees  ball  ees  ovaire,"  and  Monsieur  Bertrand 
winked  portentously  at  his  youthful  auditor.  "Eef  she 
doan  dance  wit  me,  Ah  goan  toll  heur  dat  she  was  mad 
acpse  Ah  have  beat  heur  to-day ;  an  you  see  eef  she  not 
goan  dance  wit  me  den.  Ah  toll  you  de  widday  wus  spun- 
kay,"  and  he  moved  his  head  slowly  back  and  forth  in 
admiring  commendation  of  the  widow's  pluck. 

"Did  you  get  home  with  the  pony  all  right?"  enquired 
Jack. 

"  What,  wit  Jack  Katbone?  "  Bah  gosh,  Monsieur  Jack, 
yo  nam  mac  fuss  class  nam  for  a  horse,  aint  eet  ?  " 

"Well,  I  don't  know,"  replied  the  youth  smiling;  "but 
at  all  events  I  hope  it  won't  prove  an  unlucky  one  for 
either  yourself  or  the  little  horse.  " 

"Oh,  you  need  not  fear  of  dat;  de  nam  wus  all  raght. 
Every boday  on  de  veellage  know  dat  wus  hees  nam  now,  too. 
You  see  we  have  go  home  wit  flyin  coleur,  and  everyboday 
wus  cry,  *  Hoorah  poii7'  Jack  Ratbone ! '  Some  ov  our  byes, 
you  know,  have  fetch  wit  dem  a  lot  of  dem  small,  square 
flag  dey  use  on  celebration  days,  and  dey  have  stuck  wan 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


113 


ov  dem  on  bote  side  ov  de  bridle  ov  de  ponay  and  four 
more  on  de  harness  on  hees  back,  an  de  driver  have  fassen 
wan  beeg  new  broom  to  de  dash  board,  and  den  we  wus  to 
drav  trough  de  veellage  at  a  pootay  livelay  gait,  foUored  bah 
long  percession  ov  all  kin  ov  reeg— cutteur,  cariole,  new 
fashon,  ole  fashon,  evray  kine  of  sleigh  wus  dare !  Ah  toll 
you,  de  people  wus  excite  I  You  orter  see  dem  run  hout  ov 
dar  house  and  cheer  as  we  pass  by.  De  womans  wave 
dare  hankfeesh,  an  de  chillen  hoorah  loud's  dey  can't." 

"You  see,"  confidentially  added  Peter  as  he  lowered  his 
voice  to  a  whisper,  "some  ov  de  fokes  roun  here  doan  tink 
much  ov  de  widday.  Dey  ses  she  wus  too  much  lac  a 
mans,  an  eet  wus  not  raglit  dat  she  keeps  a  fass  horse." 

"  Oh,  shaw  !  "  exclaimed  Jack,  earnestly,  "  I  don't  see 
anything  wrong  in  her  keeping  a  fast  horse  if  it  suits  her  to 
do  so."  . 

"Needer  me!"  cried  Peter,  vehemently;  "Ah  honlay 
was  toll  you  what  some  udder  fokes  ses." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  replied  his  young  city  friend ;  "but  I'd 
tell  all  such  people  to  go  to  the  devil  and  mind  their  own 
business!" 

"  Aw,  dare  ees  de  widday  now ! "  interrupted  Peter,  as 
his  eye  fell  upon  the  hostess  just  as  she  entered  the  door 
from  the  kitchen.  "You  see  Ah  goan  mak  heur  open  de 
ball  wit  me,"  and,  accompanied  by  Jack,  who  was  curious 
to  see  the  result  of  this  gallant  determination,  he  made  his 
way  to  the  widow.  ■* 

Jack  was  the  first  to  speak.  He  said:  "Mrs.  Martin, 
Peter  has  just  been  telling  me  that  if  you  don't  honor  him 
8 


'i^ 


mU 


w 


114 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


by  opening  the  ball  witli  liim,  he'll  think  it's  because  you 
are  mad  because  he  beat  you  on  the  ice  to-day. 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  the  relict  of  the  late  Ebenezer 
the  Second,  "  Pierro  kin  go  to  grass.  Ah  aint  dat  kine  ov 
a  womans,  an  mah  dancin  day  wus  ovaire  long  ago.  Mad 
wit  heern,  par  example!  Quel  ahsurdite!  "  and  she  laughed 
again  more  heartily  than  before. 

"Well,"  interposed  the  owner  of  "  dat  leeile  chesnut 
plug,  "  "you  need  not  to  laugh  lac  dat  Meessesl  Mafoieei 
you  doan  dance  de  fust  dance  wit  me  Aligoan  tink  you  wus 
mad  wit  me !" 

"  Aw,  vatan  done, "  exclaimed  the  widow,  assuming  the 
scornful  ^^  EsttufouV 

*'  Aw  yas,  praps  Ah  wus  fool,  "  replied  Peter,  ^'•maU  Ah 
knows  what  kin  of  a  womans  you  was  I" 

"Yas,  well,  what  kin  of  a  womans  you  tink  Ah  wus 
den  ?" 

"  Ah  tink  you  wusbeetaire  an  foole  of  vengeance  agin  folks 
when  dey  doan  let  you  ride  over  dem  1"  and  Mr.  Bertrand 
with  solemn  countenance  winked  an  aside  wink  at  Jack  as 
if  he  would  say,  "you'll  see  if  that  don't  fetch  her  to 
trumps  1" 

"J.A  Pierro  won  Aomme  .^"  and  the  widow's  straightened, 
olive-hued  features  blended  into  a  melancholy  smile,  "  Ah 
have  always  taught  you  wus  wan  ov  mah  good  fren  1  Ah 
deed  not  tink  you  would  say  dat  bout  me !  De  honlay  ting 
Ah  reegret  an  wus  sorry  fur  today  wus  de  anjuray  mah 
pore  ole  Crapaud  have  meet  wit,  an  j'^ou  hurts  me  when  you 
ses  Ah  wus  foole  of  vengeance  !" 

"  Oh,  Ah  doan  want  hurt  you  I"  apologetically  exclaimed 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


115 


T 


Peter,  "  nutting  lac  dat  for  sure  I  Ah  onlay  wants  to  dance 
wit  you!" 

"  Yes, "  interposed  Jack,  "  and  you  had  better  dance  with 
him  Mrs.  Martin!  Open  tlie  ball  with  Mr.  Bertrand,  and 
you'll  find  that  everything  will  go  off  pleasantly  for  the  rest 
of  the  evening. 

"  Eut, "  remonstrated  the  widow,  "  Ah  doan  know  dem 
new  dance. " 

^^  Mais  you  knows  how  to  dance  a  two-ban  reel,  "  cried 
Peter,  "acose  Ah  remembaire  you  wus  de  bess  dancer  een 
dees  part  ov  de  conetray  tirty  3'ear  ago !" 

"  Ah  yas,  tirty  year  ago !  mats  Ah  wus  too  ole  fur  dat 
now!" 

"Too  ole!"  indignantly  exclaimed  Mr.  Bertrand  with  an 
intonation  of  trembling  scorn,  "Too  ole!  Why,  bah  George! 
Ah  weel  bet  ten  doll  air  to  fav  cent  dat  you  wus  younger 
dan  half  de  gell  een  dees  room  now  !" 

This  was  too  much  for  Crapaud's  plucky  and  sportive 
owner. 

"Well  Ah  goan  try  a  two-han  reel  wit  you  den,  "  she 
said,  as  with  a  playful  smile  lighting  up  her  comely  coun- 
tenance she  took  Mr.  Bertrand's  arm  to  go  over  and  instruct 
Monsieur  le  Proffesseur  Moyees  Duplessis,  which  was  the 
domestic  name  and  professional  title  in  which  the  band 
rejoiced,  to  attune  his  instrument  for  a  reel  as  the  initial 
dance  of  the  evening.  The  professor  had  by  this  time  dis- 
solved a  considerable  modicum  of  his  avoirdupois  into  a 
wreaking  perspiration,  which  streamed  from  every  pore  of 
his  face  and  hands  and  dropped  off  the  end  of  liis  nose  in 
plenteous  drops,  redolent  of  whisky  and  black  strap  tobacco. 


■v. 


^ 


t 


116 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


&'i 


w.  '  ^'  ■ 


This,  however,  seemed  to  have  the  effect  of  smoothing 
his  ruffled  feathers,  and  when,  after  a  few  final  sonorous 
scrapings  of  his  f  reshly-resined  bow  across  the  now  accorded 
strings,  he  burst  forth  into  the  Arkansas  Traveler  as  a  sort 
of  introductory  overture,  his  face  wore  an  unmistakable 
smile  of  inane  beatitude. 

The  Arkansas  Traveler  was  the  modern  piece  de  resistence 
of  Monsieur  Duplessis'  repertoire  —  tlie  Arkansas  Traveler 
in  its  entirety — both  the  first  as  well  as  the  second  part,  the 
execution  of  which,  by  the  peripatetic  "strawnger, "  so 
delighted  Davy  Crocket,  of  historic  and  dramatic  memory. 

Modern  melody  might,  perchance,  have  produced  a  tune 
more  calculated  to  inspire  to  deeds  of  terpsichorean  prowess ; 
but  if  it  had,  Mons.  le  Proffesseur  had  as  yet  failed  to  dis- 
cover it  and  in  the  execution  of  the  always  popular,  grotesque 
old  air,  as  a  rural  fiddler  proved  himself  no  mean  per- 
former. 

This  finished,  he  held  his  upright  fiddle  on  his  left  knee, 
and  his  perpendicular  bow  on  his  right,  and  called  out  in  a 
voice  of  command,  "Took  yo  pardneur  fur  de  fus  kad- 
dreel." 

"  No,  no,  Paul ! "  interposed  Peter,  as  he  approached  the 
orchestral  throne  with  the  mischievously  smiling  widow 
leaning  upon  his  arm,  after  she  had  transformed  her  black 
dress  into  a  costume  more  picturesquely  appropriate  for  the 
occasion  by  tucking  up  a  la  draperie  the  outer  skirt  thereof 
and  displaying  a  scarlet  Balmoral  petticoat,  and  a  not 
unshapely  pair  of  feet  and  ankles;  '•^Pas  un  quaddreel  sil 
vous  plait,  Paul  I  Me  an  de  Meesses,  and  hany  wan  else  dats 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


117 


want  to  jine  een,  wus  goan  dance  a  two-han  reel  a  la  vielleux 
fassonl''^ 

"  What  you  say  ?  "  exclaimed  the  astonished  band ;  "  you 
an  de  Meesses  wus  goan  dance  two-han  reel  a  la  vielleux 
fasson  f  " 

"  Yas,  dat's  what  we  goan  do,"  assented  Peter,  positively. 

"^/i  hieii  honte  comme  je  sius  content  I -^  and  then  in  a 
louder,  jubilant  voice  he  called  out :  "  Ladies  an  gensee- 
mans,  took  yopardneur  fur  an  two-han  reel  a  la  vielleux  fas- 
son,  an  Ah  goan  play  you  someting  dat's  goan  mac  yo 
shook  yo  foot,  whedder  you  wants  to  ou  yo  doan  wants  to  I 
Revielle  done  mes  amisl  "  with  which  enjoinder  befell  to 
tuning  up  again  with  greasy  satisfaction. 

The  announcement  of  a  reel  as  the  opening  dance  was  an 
innovation  upon  the  customary  programme  on  such  occa- 
sions, and  for  the  moment,  somewhat  disappointed  and 
chilled  the  youthful  ardor  of  the  expectant  dancers,  wlio, 
pending  the  prolonged  tuning  struggle  of  the  professor  with 
his  refractory  fiddle  strings,  had  been  promenading  the  floor 
in  impatient,  albeit  joyous  couples.  But  all  feeling  of 
momentary  discontent  soon  made  way  for  a  good-naturedly, 
eager  curiosity,  as  the  brawny  Peter  and  comely  widow 
faced  each  other  with  arms  akimbo  ready  for  the  ancient 
terpsichorean  fray. 

"  Come  on,  some  ov  you  fokes,  an  jine  een."  supplicated 
Monsieur  Bertrand.  But  no  one  responded  to  this  appeal, 
and  he  and  his  sportive  partner  were  left  sole  occupants  of 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  around  which  was  formed  a  circle  of 
gay  and  festive  participants  in  this  one  of  the  widow's  more 
memorable  balls. 


•     <A 


*r,  i 


ii 


118 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


As  they  stood  there,  this  well-dressed  Herculean  specimen 
of  French  Canadian  manhood,  and  interesting,  low  browed, 
raven  haired,  well  formed  widow,  surrounded  by  a  conloyi  of 
intently  happy  faces  in  this  low  ceiled  room,  dimly  lighted 
by  the  rays  of  bracket  lamps,  hung  in  tlie  centre  of  three  of 
the  four  walls  thereof,  and  presided  over  by  the  rural  fiddler 
perched  upon  his  rostrum  in  the  northeast  corner,  the  scene 
suggested  one  of  Vandyke's  realistic  dreams  upon  canvas 
or  perhaps  better,  a  scene  ivorw  one  of  Moliere's  pla3's. 

As  Monsieur  Duplessis  with  beaming,  albeit  shiningly 
greasy  «ountenance,  and  the  measured  palpitation  of  his 
right  foot  in  jerky  resonance,  sawed  out  the  inspiring  bars 
of  an  old  fashioned  reel,  the  inaugural  dance  of  the  Widow 
Martin's  ball  began. 

There  certainly  are  things  impossible  of  description,  and 
the  tuneful  gyrations  of  the  human  form  divine  in  an  old 
fashioned  reel  must  be  one  of  them.  At  all  events,  it  is  so 
with  this  stubby  little  pencil  in  the  inexperienced  hands  of 
its  latest  owner. 

It,  however,  goes  without  saying,  that  the  opening  dance  at 
this  especially  auspicious  ball  at  the  "Widow  Martin's 
tavern,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  St.  Clair,  was  a  huge  success, 
and  loud  were  the  plaudits  of  the  assembled  merry-makers 
at  the  festive  widow's  power  of  endurance  as  she  continued 
her  timely  and  fantastic  steps  after  her  burly  partner,  from 
an  affected  exhaustion  had  sunk,  laughing  and  very  much 
blown,  to  the  floor. 

"  Ha,  ha,  "  gasped  the  widow,  as  she  came  to  a  palpitating 
stand  after  a  final  pirouette  of  wondrous  agility,  "you  could 
beat  mah  pore  ole  Crapaud  on  de  hice  dees  afternoon,  but 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


119 


you  coo'nt  hole  a  cannel  to  hees  meestress  on  clees  floor 
to-night, ''  to  which  Peter,  in  breathless  {\ccents,  and  shaking 
with  good-natured  laughter  as  he  lay  prone  upon  the  floor, 
replied,  "Ahgeeve  up!  Ah  geeve  up!  You  wus  too  many 
for  me  Madame — Whew !  Ah'm  moss  dead  !" 

*'  Bravo  I  Bravo !  dat  wus  de  bess  ting  Ah  nevaire  see  fur 
long  tarn !"  shouted  the  band  enthusiastically,  as,  with  one 
final,  discordant  swoop  of  his  bow  he  tucked  his  fiddle  under 
his  left  arm,  and  descending  from  the  orchestral  throne  pro- 
ceeded to  elbow  his  way  through  the  hilarious  crowd  to  the 
triumphant  widow. 

He  seized  her  limp,  unresisting  hand,  and  shaking  it 
demonstratively,  in  tones  of  admiration  exclaimed,  "  Bravo ! 
Bravo  1  Madame !  bah  gosh,  eef  you  is'nt  good  wan !  Dat  wus 
de  bess  ting  Ah've  not  see  for  more  dan  twentay  year,  an 
Ah  goan  forgeeve  you  for  what  you  have  call  me  jews 
now  I" 

"  Dat's  all  raght,  Moyees !"  replied  the  panting  hostess, 
"Dat's  all  raght!  Go  on  de  bar  and  tell  Albert  to  geeve 
you  a  dreenk  on  mah  espense, "  which  enjoinder  the 
perennially  thirsty  band,  now  entirely  restored  to  good 
humor,  at  once  proceeded  to  carry  out. 

Meanwhile,  Peter  had  arisen  from  the  floor,  and  under  a 
fire  of  good-natured  badinage  from  the  laughing  crowd  of 
gay  onlookers,  followed  Monsieur  Duplessis  to  the  tap 
room  to  cool  off,  and  superintend  the  liquid  provisioning  of 
that  worthy's  inner  man. 

This  done  the  professor,  under  the  close  surviellance  of  a 
coterie  of  eager  young  gallants,  was  soon  made  to  return  and 
resume  his  perch  upon  the  rostrum,  and  as  he  took  his  seat, 


'.'',     ■'.'. 

0, 

ml 

m 

11 

pr^ 

liJ 

pi 

Wis 

,  •■^i' • 

J 

1 

H 

■ 

;^, 

120 


BORDER  CAM'CKS. 


he  wiped  liis  face  with  a  much  used  red  bandanna  hand- 
kerchief, and  in  commanding  tones  called  out  "  Iloorali 
boy  1  We  weel  now  beegeen  de  noo  fashon  style  to  dance ! 
Took  yo  pardneur  for  de  fuss  kaddrcel !" 

Like  the  initiatory  reel,  this  first  quadrille,  too,  was  a 
grand  success.  Jack  Kathbone,  with  the  pretty  Blanche 
Bertrand  for  a  partner,  danced  visa  vis  toChark'y  Ford,  and 
the  gusliing  Eosalie — the  widow's  fair  daughter — while  the 
remainder  of  this  and  the  other  sets  on  the  floor  were  made 
up  of  gay  and  good-natured  couples  of  the  beaux  espriis  and 
fair  daughters  of  the  neighborhood. 

Right  merrily  did  the  evening  grow  on  apace,  and  the 
abandon  and  bon-  homie  engendered  by  the  widow  and  Peter 
Bertrand's  old-time  opening  reel  continued  to  pervade  every 
incident  of  the  memorable  occasion  until  the  midwinter's 
night  closely  trenched  upon  another  Sabbath  morn. 


CITAPTER  VII. 

A  Turkey  Gobbler  Parent — An  PJmbarrassing  Son  and  Ileir — A  Retro- 
$pect — An  Apology  For  a  Jlero,  Etc. 

\  LBEIT  a  prosperous  merchant,  Mr.  Robert  Rathbone 
-^-^  was  a  man  of  many  and  variously  uncertain  moods 
in  respect  of  his  social  :  nd  domestic  entity. 

Emily,  his  eldest  daughter,  recently  married  to  an  officer 
in  the  United  States  army  and  gone  with  her  husband  to 
sojourn  at  one  of  the  far  western  military  posts,  understood 
him  thoroughly.  He  had  been  very  much  averse  to  her 
marrying  an  American  military  man  at  the  outset,  but  this  in- 
timate understanding  of  him  diplomatically  taken  advantage 
of,  had,  in  the  end,  changed  his  opposition  into  acquiescence. 

Shortly  before  her  marriage,  Miss  Rathbone  had  said  to 
her  mother,  during  one  of  their  confidential  confabs  before 
the  slowly  dying  grate  fire  in  the  dining  room  after  the 
others  of  the  family  had  retired,  one  night:  "You  know, 
mamma,  I  wouldn't  be  one  bit  surprised  at  anyihing  papa 
might  do  at  any  time.  Of  course,  you  know,  I  mean  within 
a  due  observance  of  law  and  order,  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing.  He  seems  so  influenced  by  the  mood  he  happens  to 
be  in  for  the  time  being.  And  so  whimsical  I  Why, 
mamma,  he's  just  like  a  great,  big,  overgrown  school-boy  in 
some  things,  and  his  temper  is  so  variable  and  uncertain, 
that  one  never  can  tell  what  he's  going  to  do  next." 

"  My  dear,  my  dear,"  remonstrated  the  placid  little  mother, 
"you  shouldn't  talk  that  way  of  your  father." 

(121) 


■t.      [), 


m 

ft? , 


122 


130KDEK  CANL'CKS. 


\iA 


)\i,K:f'^'L-.  ,;i.\  ..^'iijjB 


"  "Well,  you  know,  mamma,  that  what  I  say  is  true  I " 

"  That  doesn't  matter,  dear,  if  it  does  happen  to  be  true. 
In  fact,  it  makes  it  far  worse  if  what  you  say  is  true.  It's 
not  at  all  nice  to  hear  a  grown-up  child  commenting  ill-nat- 
uredly upon  her  parent's  weaknesses." 

"Oh,  mammal  you  mustn't  think  that  I  said  what  I  did 
illnaturedly.  Oh,  no !  not  at  all.  I  only  mentioned  what  I 
know  that  you  know  is  a  fact." 

"Well,  my  dear,  even  if  it  is  a  fact,  that's  the  very  reason 
you  should  say  nothing  about  it,  and  endeavor  to  cover  it 
up.  My!  Supposing  you  went  to  your  father  and  talked 
to  him  of  my  manifold  faults  I " 

"  Your  manifold  faults !  You  stupid  little  mother,  you  I " 
and  the  incipient  bride  arose  with  a  start  from  the  easy 
chair  in  which  she  had  lazily  reclined,  and  going  over  to  the 
little  woman  seated  at  the  opposite  Jiide  of  the  fire-place,  she 
gushingly  threw  her  arms  about  her  neck  in  a  throe  of 
demonstrative  affection. 

"  Your  faults  1  Oh,  you  poor,  dear,  little,  old,  thing,  you ! 
as  if  you  had  any  faults  I  "  and  seated  upon  the  diminutive 
mater's  lap,  she  kissed  her  again  and  again. 

"  Yes,  my  faults,"  repeated  the  mother,  with  a  sad  smile, 

as  she  tenderly  stroked  her  eldest  daughter's  soft,  brown 

'  hair.     "  I  hope  you'll  endeavor  to  forget  them  aftei  you  are 

married,  and  only  think  of  whatever  few  good  qualities  I 

may  possess,  when  you  are  far  away." 

"  Oh  mamma,  mamma,  don't  talk  like  that !  you  make  me 
feel  so  wretched !  The  very  thought  of  being  far  away 
from  you  and  this  dear  old  home  makes  me  very  unhappy!" 
and  her  pretty  blue  eyes  grew  dim  with  loving,  regretful 


BOi{DEu  ca:-:l'cks. 


123 


tears  as  a  premonitary  symptom  to  V.'e  joint  "  good  cry  "  this 
mother  and  daughter  indulged  in  on  this  occasion  while 
contemplating  tlieir  early  separation. 

Yet  though  Mr.  Kathbone,  as  a  husband  and  father,  was 
uncertain  of  temper  and  even  at  times  whimsical  he  did 
periodically  conduct  himself  in  a  commendably  parental 
way  and,  in  fact,  so  unbent  and  relaxed  his  sometimes  strin- 
gent paternal  and  marital  mandates,  as  to  become  for  the 
time  being  a  reasonably  affectionate  and  indulgent  head  of  a 
well  regulated  domestic  household. 

Howbeit  there  ever  smouldered  within  his  abnormally 
jealous  breast  the  latent  germs  of  a  petty  tyrant  within  the 
precincts  of  his  own  fold,  to  suppress  which  and  avert  a 
troublous  irruption  often  required  the  diplomatic  treatment, 
and  defferentially  judicious  coddling  of  his  ever  patient 
wife  and  appreciative  daughcers. 

To  these  two  last,  he  was  inclined  at  times  to  be  if  any- 
thing overindulgent,  and  in  the  long  run  they  usually 
carried  their  point  with  him,  as  witness  the  ultimate  mar- 
riageol*  the  fair  Ei.  lily  to  her  handsome  military^awce. 

It,  however,  m;iy  be  said  of  Mr.  Robert  Rathbone  that  he 
wastheso>tof  man  one  but  too  frequently  meets  with  in 
the  busines.i  places  a  id  counting  houses,  of  large  as  well  as 
small  comrivircial  centres,  who  take  off  thp  r  more  obnoxious 
incongruities  of  character,  and  lay  them  upon  the  threshold 
of  their  domiciles  on  their  departure  for  their  offices  in  the 
morning  of  each  working  day,  and  resume  them  on  their 
return  with  the  hangiiig  up  of  their  uats  in  the  entrxnce  hall 
in  the  evening. 

To  the  outside  work'  he  w.'i";  ever  the  same  self-possessed, 


I 


si 


lUI  lUi^^L* 


124 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


conciliatory  business  man,  dignified  and  pre-eminently 
respectable  withal — while  within  the  confines  of  his  own 
demestic  hearth,  he  was  the  jealously  tyrannical  head  of  the 
family,  whom  to  be  unremittingly  tabbied  and  coddled  by 
the  females  of  the  household  was  as  indispensable  to  his 
equanimity  as  was  meat  and  drink  to  the  proper  preser- 
vation of  his  rotund,  obese  body. 

Like  many  another  Englishman,  possessor  of  a  patient, 
long-suffering  wife,  he  treated  her  as  a  sort  of  incident  to  his 
creature  comforts,  and  especially  of  the  gastronomic  depart- 
ment thereof. 

He  had  been  a  very  good  looking  man  in  his  early  man- 
hood, about  the  medium  height,  with  a  light-haired,  straight- 
featured,  Saxon-like  ensemhle,  end  a  pair  of  fishy-looking, 
light  blue  eyes,  rather  too  much  prone  to  staring  absorbedly 
at  given  objects. 

Upon  his  devoted  and  growing  son  and  heir,  Jack,  these 
searching  orbs  now  seldom  rested  with  anything  other  than 
a  fierce  expression  of  questioning  suspicion,  not  to  say 
dislike. 

In  fact,  if  the  theory  of  fore-ordination  had  been  in  active 
operation  when  Robert  Rathbone  made  his  dehut  upon  this 
terrestrial  sphere,  it  would  have  been  well  had  it  been 
arranged  that  in  his  capacity  of  husband  and  father,  he 
should  confine  himself  to  the  propagation  of  daughters. 

To  these,  as  has  been  said  before,  he  was  a  fairly  indul- 
gent and  affectionate  parent.  • 

But  with  his  only  son,  John,  his  second  born,  he  had 
latterly  gotten  to  be  the  very  opposite,  and  manifestly 


PORDER  CANUCKS. 


125 


increasiDgly  so,  as  his  heir-apparent  approached  his  man- 
hood, 

Mr.  Rathbone,  in  respect  of  his  growing  antipathy  to  his 
son,  might  have  been  likened  unto  a  jealously  aggressive 
and  much  inflated  turkey  cock. 

It  is  said  of  these  imperious  birds,  who  are  sharp  enough  to 
distinguish  the  individual  sex  of  the  growing  young  brood, 
that  they  will  systematically,  after  the  manner  of  Herod,  peck 
and  put  to  deaih  all  their  male  off-spring  before  they  begin 
to  gobble  and  strut  about  with  elevated  tails,  and  otherwise 
interfere  with  the  old  bird's  supremacy  as  head  of  the 
domestic  circle  In  view  of  this  ornithological  peculiarity,  if 
the  Chinese  theory  as  to  the  transmigration  of  souls  be 
correct,  then  the  soul  of  a  turkey  gobbler  must  have  slipped 
aboard  at  the  launching  of  Robert  Rathbone's  hull  upon  its 
terrestrial  tour,  and  become  its  psycological  and  propelling 
motive  power. 

If  a  father  ai  all  ( the  desirabilty  of  which  was  altogether 
questionable  )  he  was  designed  essentially  to  be  rather 
a  father  ot  daughters  than  of  sons. 

The  daughters,  in  their  gushing  defferential  way,  in  more 
or  less  degree  pandered  to  his  vanity  and  aggrandized  his 
importance  as  author  of  their  beings  But  the  growing 
popularity  and  importance,  in  the  esteem  of  his  mother  and 
sisters,  of  his  only  son,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  to  threaten  a 
belittling  ot  the  father's  importance  in  the  household,  or,  at 
least,  a  division  of  the  honors,  comforts  and  other  perquisites 
ot  the  position  of  Tabbie-in-chiet  thereof. 

It  marriage  with  Robert  Rathbone  had  proven  a  failure, 


126 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


it  had  been  because  of  his  whimsicallj  jealous  temper  and 
overbearingly  selfish  nature. 

It  would  have  been  better  had  he  never  married  at  all — 
better  for  himself  and  better  for  liis  wife,  whose  real  or 
fancied  exploits  as  a  society  belle  of  the  city  previous  to  her 
marriage,  and  in  fact  previous  to  his  having  met  her  at  all, 
had  allowed  his  vile  imaginings  to  manufacture  into  a 
p'  •  -.  -M  of  ever  lurking  jealousy. 

W-.t!""  his  son  Jack  was  a  small  boy  in  knickerbockers 
and  jacket,  he  was  proud  of  his  good  looks  and  pre- 
cocious sayings,  and  gratified  with  the  sense  of  proprietary  he 
felt  when  he  looked  at  him. 

But  as  the  boy  grew  older  and  gradually  developed  into  a 
tall,  fair-haired,  good-looking  specimen  of  incipient  man 
hood,  the  gnawing  phantom  of  suspicion,  which  haunted 
him  in  his  morbid  moods,  caused  him  to  discover  a  marked 
likeness  twixtthe  handsome  youth  and  his  wife's  one-time 
girlhood  lover,  Gustavus  Ford. 

This  Gustavus  Ford,  now  long  since  dead,  had  been  a 
dashing  young  gallant,  conspicuous  at  all  the  better  class 
social  gatherings  in  the  fashionable  quarters  of  the  town, 
while  Robert  Rathbone,  yet  unmindful  of  aught  else  save 
business  progress,  plodded  on  as  clerk  for  the  firm  he  had 
engaged  with  on  his  first  arrival  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Ford  had  subsequently  given  the  local  Mrs.  Grundies 
large  cause  for  gossip  by  unexpectedly  eloping  with  the 
only  daughter  and  only  child  of  one  of  Detroit's  richest 
citizens  at  a  time  when  it  was  very  generally  supposed  he 
was  shortly  going  to  marry  the  pretty  and  popular  little 
Miss  La  Tourneau. 


LOUUEIl  CANUCKS. 


127 


The  flight  of  the  fugitives  rendered  society  aghast  for  the 
time  being,  but  it  proved  to  be  only  the  proverbial  nine 
days'  wonder  with  the  F.  F's.  of  the  little  city,  and,  like  all 
else  in  this  fleeting  kaleidoscopic  life,  was  soon  forgotten 
when  the  truant  couple,  forgiven  by  the  bride's  parents 
returned  home  to  assume  their  surreptitiously  obtained 
res}:onsibilities  to  themselves  and  to  society. 

Mr.  Ford  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and,  aided  by  his  now 
influential  associations  as  husband  of  an  heiress  to  a  large 
fortune,  and  son-in-law  to  a  distinguished  citizen  in  a  large 
way  of  business,  his  native  wit  and  brilliant  talents  soon 
secured  for  him  a  conspicuously  commanding  position  at 
the  state  bar. 

But  while  his  professional  life  grew  in  prosperity,  bis 
inner  domestic  life  year  by  year  waxed  proportionately 
wretched  and  unenviable. 

His  perturbed  and  peripatetic  honeymoon  was  not  yet 
over  ere  he  discovered  that,  on  the  impulse  of  the  hour,  he 
had  allied  himself,  until  death  or  the  divorce  court  should 
separate  them,  with  one  whom  he  never  could  love  or 
tenderly  sympathize  with. 

At  the  outset  of  his  married  life,  Mr.  Ford's  struggles  for 
distinction  at  the  bar  were  so  absorbent  of  his  thinking 
power,  that  his  domestic  surroundings  and  appurtenances 
received  a  very  small  modicum  of  his  attention  ;  but  as  the 
noveltj-  »of  professional  success  gradually  wore  away,  and 
the  disenchanting  circumstances  of  daily  matrimonial  con- 
tact with  one  to  whom  his  heart  would  not  and  could  not 
go  out,  month  by  month  grew  more  and  more  trying,  he 
chafed  and  fretted  under  the  marital  yoke. 


[ 


128 


BORDEli   CriNUC£S. 


/'''•  I ,  '^ 


He  took  to  politics  as  a  means  of  distracting  his  mind 
from  the  contemplation  of  this  irrevocable  cast  of  the  dye, 
and,  as  at  the  bar — which,  by  the  way,  both  in  the  States 
and  Canada,  constitutes  the  most  prolific  nursery  for,  and 
stepping  stone  to,  the  political  arena — he  met  with  marked 
acceptance. 

But,  though  his  short  and  brilliant  career  as  a  legislator 
was  in  every  way  agreeable  to  his  ambition  and  soothing  to 
his  vanity,  and  for  a  time  a  seemingly  effective  panacea  for 
,.ie  discords  of  his  domestic  situation,  his  struggles  towards 
the  summit  of  Parnassus,  in  the  end  inevitably  proved 
^her:  ^ves  purely  tentative  and  altogether  ephemeral  in 
their  consequences. 

For,  incidentally  to  his  success  as  a  politician,  he  became  a 
confirmed  drunkard,  though  a  quiet,  melancholy  and  unob- 
trusive one.  As  a  drunkard  he  came  to  his  death,  though 
the  fact  was  not  generally  known  to  the  outside  world ;  and 
some  ten  years  before  the  opening  of  this  history  he  was 
quietly  laid  to  rest  in  Elmwood  cemetery,  amidst  an  halo  of 
general  public  regret,  and  the  sincere  lamentations  of  many 
friends,  leaving  behind  him  a  rich  widow  and  two  briglit- 
eyed  little  sons,  "  to  mourn  his  loss, "  to  use  a  much-worn 
and  much-abused  phrase. 

On  his  death-bed  Mr.  Ford  had  sent  a  surreptitious  mes- 
sage, through  his  devoted!}^  forgiving,  albeit  too  much  neg- 
lected, wife,  to  Mrs.  Rathbone,  beseeching  her  to  come  to 
his  dying  bed-side,  that  he  might,  in  bidding  her  a  last 
adieu,  make  his  peace  in  respect  of  that  which  iiad  over- 
shadowed his  conscience  as  an  all-pervading  pall  for  many 


MflZ 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


129 


an  unhappy  hour  during  the  heyday  of  his  success  at  the 
bar,  and  his  triumphs  in  the  field  of  politics. 

Mrs.  Rathbone,  unable  to  resist  this  melancholy  appeal  in 
fearful  and  trembhng  anticipation  of  the  trying  ordeal  had 
gone,  and  an  unwitnessed  interview  had  taken  place,  which 
had  so  effected  the  tender-hearted  wife  of  Robert  Rathbone 
that  in  her  subsequent  effervescent  feelings  of  grief  and 
remorse,  she  had  gushingly  told  her  husband  for  the  first 
time  since  their  marriage  the  nature  of  her  one  time  close 
intimacy  with  the  dying  man  and  of  how  much  she  hud 
loved  him  in  the  days  gone  by. 

A  foolish,  single-hearted,  forgiving  little  woman  this  !  but, 
in  view  of  her  more  than  ten  years'  experience  of  her 
jealously  suspicious  husband,  how  injudicious  in  this 
instance ! 

Looking  at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  a  conservator  of 
Robert  Rathbone's  peace  of  mind,  this  was  manifestly  a  case 
wherein  the  bliss  ot  ignorance  was  incomparably  better  than 
the  folly  of  overburdening  wisdom. 

Unquestionably  it  would  have  been  better  (in  that  it 
would  have  been  the  properly  honest  course  to  take  under 
the  circumstances)  if  at  the  outset  of  her  encouraging 
acceptance  of  the  attentions  which  led  u])  to  their  marriage, 
she  had  told  her  future  husband  of  the  true  character  of  her 
intimacy  with  Gustavus  Ford. 

But,  having  omitted  the  performance  of  this  self-apparent 
duty  at  the  proper  time,  it  was  little  short  of  cruel  to  tell  the 
unfortunate  man  so  many  years  after  the  facts  were  at  all 
reparable. 

9 


I  ft   *i,» 


■»  IV 


130 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


'n^'-ii 


m 


'IH 


5'!:^ 


'i:-";i.' 


y  -        V; 
I' 


She  had  wanted  to  tell  him  at  the  proper  time ;  and  she 
had  felt  not  unlike  a  guilty  thief  in  not  having  unbosomed 
herself  and  trusted  to  his  generosity  to  overlook  anything 
in  her  girlhood  intimacy  with  Gustavus  Ford,  which,  from 
a  strictly  decorous  point  of  morality,  might  have  approached 
what  could  be  properly  called  an  indiscretion. 

The  probabilities  are  that  had  she  possessed  the  veiy 
unusual  faculty  of  at  will  transfering  her  affections  from  her 
first  lover  to  her  second  serious  suitor,  she  would  have, 
without  much  difficulty,  contrived  to  tell  the  latter  of  the 
true  nature  of  her  one-time  intimacy  with  the  former. 

But  it  will  be  remembered  that  it  was,  from  the  outset, 
understood  that  the  betrothal  of  Robert  Rathbone  and  Miss 
Emily  La  Tourneau  resulted  m  a  very  near  approach  to  un 
marriage  de  covenance,  in  which  the  feminine  heart  involved 
was  but  a  scarificed,  second-hand  appendage;  and  with  that 
feminine  reticence,  which  is  the  invariable  outcome  of  dis- 
appointed, outraged  love,  the  affianced  bride  had,  in  the 
light  of  her  experience  as  tho  erstwhile  fiancee  of  Gustavus 
Ford,  shrunk  from  the  idea  of  entrusting  the  man  she  was 
about  to  marry  with  the  knowledge  he  was  justly  entitled 
to  in  the  forming  of  an  opinion  of  her  fitness  to  fill  the  post 
of  a  loving  and  loyal  wife  to  him. 

The  dead  man  had  not  absolutely  jilted  her — that  is  to 
say,  he  had  not,  while  engaged  to  her,  taken  French  leave 
and  clandestinely  gone  off  with  the  prospectively  rich  girl 
he  had  made  his  wife. 

Miss  La  Tourneau  and  the  comparatively  briefless  young 
lawyer  had  been  engaged  to  be  married  for  well  on  to  four 
years,  and  during  that  period  had  seen  much  of  each  other 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


131 


iu  the  close  confidences  of  a  betrothal  intimacy,  which, 
however,  in  keeping  with  the  invariable  experiences  in 
most  cases  of  protracted  engagements,  had  been  periodically 
visited  with  the  temporarily  fatuous  storm  of  a  lovers* 
quarrel. 

For  more  than  a  dozen  times  had  they  at  intervals  during 
their  lengthened  engagement  mutually  rated  each  other  in 
criminatory  and  recriminatory  terms,  and  separated  for  the 
nonce  with  vehemently  bitter  words  upon  their  lips — always 
however,  again  to  come  together  in  the  ecstatic  throes  of  that 
sweetest  mutual  forgiveness  of  reinvigorated  love  so  aptly 
covered  by  a  certain  time-honored  Lalin  proverb  bearing 
upon  the  subject. 

On  the  last  occasion  of  these  periodical  outbreaks,  which 
had  originated  with  her  lover  uprading  her  in  jealously 
angry  terms  for  having  danced  too  often  and  otherwise 
having  rendered  herself  far  too  conspicuous  with  a  certain 
elegible  and  popular  man  about  town,  a  notorious  flirt,  Miss 
La  Tourneau  had  given  Mr.  Ford  his  conge  apparently  as  if 
she  meant  that  their  heretofore  understanding,  looking  to 
their  marriage  so  soon  as  his  circumstances  might  warrant 
it,  should  cease  and  determine  from  that  hour. 

He  had  assured  her,  in  bitterly  resounding  philippics,  that 
he  should  take  her  at  her  word,  and  he  had  thus  taken  his 
departure  from  the  La  Tourneau  domicile  for  the  last  time, 
untrammelled  of  his  long  existing  plighted  troth,  to  one, 
whom,  in  his  subsequent  morbid  moods  of  mind,  growing 
out  of  the  real  and  fancied  miseries  of  his  ill  assorted 
fugitive  match,  he  had  allowed  himself  to  get  to  think  that 
life  was  not  worth  living  without? 


132 


BOKDER  CANUCKS. 


im^- 


n  < 


Of  course,  coquettish  woman-like,  she  had  acted  out  her 
part,  as  if  she  really  were  in  earnest  when  she  unrelentingly 
dismissed  him  with  a  repellant  cold  good-bye;  but  she  was 
only  acting  a  part,  and  she  confidently  looked  forward  to  a 
blissful  restoration  of  peace  and  harmony  again  before  the 
week  was  out. 

However,  in  this  anticipation  she  was  somewhat  shaken 
when  on  the  evening  following  their  angry  separation  a 
messenger  brought  her  a  coldly  formal  letter  and  a  package 
from  Gus  (as  she  always  called  Mr.  Ford),  the  latter  con- 
taining her  letters  to  him,  a  locket,  and  certain  other  little 
souvenirs  she  had  from  time  to  time  given  him  throughout 
their  protracted  engagement. 

This  circumstance  was  considerably  dampening  to  her 
coquettishly  assumed  indifference  in  the  premises,  but  did 
not  altogether  rob  her  of  her  confidence  in  the  ultimate 
resumption  of  their  intimacy. 

,  She  promised  herself  that,  in  the  course  of  a  week  or  so, 
she  would  write  Gus  a  letter  acknowledging  that  she  was  to 
blame,  and  beg  his  forgiveness  ;  and  she  felt,  judging  from 
past  experience,  that  that  would  inevitably  bring  him  to 
her  feet  again. 

She,  of  course,  knew  where  his  office  was  situate,  and  she 
also  knew  that  shortly  after  four  o'clock  on  each  week  day 
he  was  usually  to  be  seen  going  to  the  postoffice  on  Gris- 
wold  street. 

She  had  often  met  him  between  these  two  points  in  keep- 
ing with  a  previous  understanding  when  they  had  arranged 
for  one  of  their  many  charming  little  afternoon  outings  on 
the  river,  a  stroll  in  Grand  Circus  Park,  or  a  visit  to  one  of 


BOUDEU  CANUCKS. 


133 


the  matinees ;  and,  for  three  consecutive,  briglit,  afternoons, 
after  arraying  her  graceful,  little  person  in  neatly,  becoming 
attire,  she  had  made  it  a  point  of  being  seen  (piietly  walking, 
without  an  escort,  along  the  route  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
taking.     But  all  to  no  purpose  1 

Either  he  had  gone  out  of  the  city,  or  she  had  too  griev* 
ously  ofEended  him,  and  he  was  purposely  keeping  out  of 
her  way,  in  virtuous  indignation 

She  was  becoming  nervously  fretful  and  subduedly  cast 
down  about  it. 

Had  she  met  him  on  the  street,  she,  of  course,  wouldn't 
have  gone  up  to  him  and  asked  his  forgiveness,  and  begged 
him  to  forget  their  quarrel. 

Oh,  no  I     She  wouldn't  have  done  that ! 

But  she'd  have  bowed  to  him  dignifiedly  and  with 
empressemeni,  and  stealthily  taken  especial  note  ot  the 
method  and  manner  of  his  response,  and  regulated  lier  sub- 
sequent course  accordingly. 

The  truth  was,  that  Miss  Emily  La  Tourneau  was  becom- 
ing very  unhappy,  as  a  victim  of  that  noxious  feeling  of 
remorse — the  sure  outcome  of  self-condemnation  in  all  such 
instances. 

What,  then,  must  have  been  the  bitterness  of  her  sensa- 
tions when,  before  she  had  contrived,  at  the  sacrifice  of  her 
pride,  to  indite  the  letter  begging  his  forgiveness  and  ask- 
ing him  to  return  to  her,  which  she  intendc  .f>  send  him, 
society  was  paralyzed  by  the  announcement  that  Mr.  Gus- 
tavus  Ford,  the  young  attorney,  and  the  wealthy  heiress. 
Miss  Julia  Perkins,  had  together  taken  flight  from  the  city. 

No  one  had  ever  known,  but  lierself,  how  much  she  had 


41 


%,    I, 
4  f" 
H 

r  '1  "1 


M 


I  '   ''       '' 


184 


BOKDEU   CANUCKS. 


'!4 


suffered  under  this  death-dealing  blow  to  all  her  tenderest 
and  fondest,  albeit  coquettish,  capacity  for  passionate  love 
for  a  man. 

The  crucible  of  an  agonized  mingling  of  bi.jjiiced  love 
and  soul-racking  remorse,  through  which  she  hud  gone  at 
this  time,  had  so  chastened,  subdued  and  purified  her  of  all 
coquettish  tendencies,  that  in  due  course  she  grew  to  be 
fitted  to  become  the  faithfully  loyal  and  patient  wife  of  the 
methodical  and  exacting  Robert  R.itlibone.  She  had  not, 
as  she  should  have  done,  told  the  latter  the  substance  of  all 
this  before  their  marriage. 

Thus  their  matrimonial  barque  had  been  launched  upon 
life's  treacherously  uncertain  sea,  freighted  down  with  all 
the  burdening  influences  of  an  ante-marital  secret 

But  under  the  influence  which  that  death-bed,  ♦^^nessed 

interview  with  her  one-time  betrothed  lover  had  upon  her 
conscience  and  her  nervous  system,  or  perhaps  in  fulfillment 
of  some  last,  dying,  expressed  wish  of  the  dead  man,  in  an 
abandon  of  hysterical  grief  and  self-abnegation  she  had 
told  her  husband  aU  that  he  properly  should  have  learned 
from  her  own  lips  at  the  outset  of  their  courtship. 

It  had  happened  on  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the 
death-bed  meeting  had  occurred,  after  the  children  had  gone 
to  bed,  leaving  their  father  and  mother  alone  seated  on 
either  side  of  a  large  centre  table  before  a  crackling,  open, 
wood  fire. 

Mrs.  Rathbone  had  introduced  the  subject  of  that  which 
had  secretively  lain  nearest  her  innermost  being,  as  a  pall 
upon  her  conscience,  by  putting  down  the  fancy  work  she 
had  nervously  been  attempting  progress  with  and  going 


BOHDEIl   CANUCKS. 


136 


over  to  wlicro  her  liusbaiul  riat,  rending  liis  ovcnitig  paper, 
.she  tremblingly  knelt  beside  his  easy  ch.air,  and  buried  her 
face  upon  the  palms  of  her  liands  as  they  rested  upon  its 
arm. 

"Robert  dear,  "  she  had  said  beseccliingly,  without  look- 
ing up  at  him,  "  put  aside  your  paper  for  a  few  moments 
won't  you  please?'' 

"Why  Emily,  what  is  the  matter?"  he  asked,  rousing  up 
and  not  unkindly  putting  aside  the  paper  in  a  far  better 
humor  than  usual.  "  I  have  noticed  that  you  were  out  of 
sorts  all  the  evening.  Are  you  ill  wife?"  and  he  took  her 
limp  unresisting  little  hands  in  one  of  his  and  smoothed  her 
bowed  head  unusually  sympatheacally,  for  him,  with  the 
other. 

"  No,  not  ill  in  the  sense  you  mean,  Robert, "  she  had 
answered,  beginning  a  burst  of  tears,  "but  I  have  got  that 
to  tell  you  of  my  life  before  we  were  married  which  you 
ought  to  have  known  before  we  became  man  and  wife.  " 

"  You  have  ?"  exclaimed  the  husband  with  rising  inflection, 
of  voice  and  kindling  suspicion.  ^ 

"  Yes,  dear,"  she  replied  with  a  trembling  sob. 

"And  what  is  it  at  this  late  day  you  have  to  tell  we?'* 
and  he  emphasized  the  me  with  resounding  vehemence. 
"What  is  there  I  should  know,  that  I  do  not  already  know, 
of  your  life  before  our  marriage?"  he  demanded,  with 
hardening  countenance. 

"You  know  that  Gustavus  Ford  died  this  afternoon,  don't 
you,  Robert  ?  "  she  gushed  forth  amidst  a  volley  of  choking 
sobs. 

"Yes!     And,  pray,   what  may  Gustavus  Ford's  dying 


II 

I 


a'-JI 


136 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


this  afternoon  have  to  do  with  what  happened  to  you  before 
we  were  married  ?  "  he  demanded,  sternly. 

•'  OA,  Mon  Dieu!  Mon  Dieii/^^  she  tearfully  exclaimed. 
in  subdued  tones,  as  if  communing  and  struggling  with  her- 
self;  and  then,  as  if  with  a  great  effort,  she  steadied  herself 
and  answered:  "Nothing,  Robert,  except  that  I  was  at 
one  time  engaged  to  be  married  to  him.  " 

"  Is  that  all  ?  "  he  queried,  in  a  doubtingly  questioning 
tone  of  voice. 

"Y-e-s." 

"  Are  you  quite  certain  it  is?  "  he  almost  shouted. 

*'  Y-e-s,  yes,  Robert  I  " 

"  Well,  then,  if  that  is  certainly  all  you  have  to  tell  me  at 
this  late  day, "  he  answered,  after  a  short  pause,  in  a  less 
aggressive  tone  of  voice,  "  I  have  only  to  say  that,  notwith- 
standing that  you  have  heretofore  withheld  what  you  your- 
self now  say  I  ought  to  have  known  before  I  became  your 
husband,  I  have  been  for  some  time  past  aware  of  the 
humiliating  fact  that  you  would  have  been  that  drunken 
reprobate's  wife,  instead  of  mine,  if  he  had  not  thought 
proper  to  jilt  you !  " 

He  jerked  this  out  in  spasms  of  irrepressible  bitterness. 

"No,  Robert,  you're  mistaken,  he  did  not  jilt  me,  "  she 
tearfully  objected,  with  a  tremulous  catching  of  the  breath. 

"  Then,  I  suppose,  he  seduced  you ! "  he  venemously 
hissed  forth,  as  he  motioned  to  get  up  from  his  chair,  which, 
however,  she  succeeded  in  preventing  by  throwing  herself 
upon  him  and  exerting  her  full  strength  in  a  fiercely  sup. 
plicating  manner. 

"Oh,  Robert!  how  dreadful  that  you  should  think  oi 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


137 


say  such  a  thing  of  your  own  wife! "she  gasped,  in  her 
efforts  to  keep  him  seated  in  the  chair. 

*'  It  is  true,  nevertlieless,  is  it  not?  "  he  demanded,  loudly. 

•'  As  Heaven  is  my  witness,  here  upon  my  bended  knees, 
Robert,  I  swear  it  is  not ! "  and  with  tightly  olas})ed, 
extended  hands,  and  a  large  tear  slowly  coursing  down 
eacli  of  her  blanched  cheeks,  she  gazed  heavenward. 

"Well,  then,  "  he  exclaimed  in  a  slightly  lowered  tone  of 
voice,  "  why  have  you  made  this  a  mystery  for  all  these 
years — practically  „living  a  lie  for  all  this  time,  as  you 
certainly  have — by  not  having  told  me  freely  and  unreserv- 
edly of  all  that  had  transpired  between  yourself  and  that 
dead  inebriate?" 

"  Because  I  was  a  moral  coward,"  she  replied,  hyster- 
ically, "  and  afraid  that  you  would  spurn  and  despise  me  as 
your  wife.  " 

"  But,  pray,  what  was  to  prevent  your  telling  me  before 
you  became  my  wife,  I'd  like  to  know  ?  " 

"Because  the  wounds,"  she  gasped,  with  a  shudder, 
between  her  well-nigh  suffocating  sobs,  "which  my  own 
folly  had  inflicted  upon  my  wicked  heart,  were  then  too 
fresh  to  exhibit  to  anybody ! " 

"  Your  folly !  your  wounds  1  and  your  wicked  heart ! 
Why,  what  do  you  mean  ?  " 

To  this  she  had  replied  by  painfully  giving  him  the 
burden  of  the  particulars,  already  known  to  the  reader,  of 
the  history  and  rupture  of  her  one-time  betrothal  to  the  dead 
Gustavus. 

"  And  now,  Oh  Robert,"  she  had  hysterically  pleaded,  as, 
rising  from  her  kneeling  posture  beside  him,  she  clingingly 


It,  ■•' 


138 


liOr.DEli  CANUCKS. 


Struggled  her  arms  about  his  neck,  "  in  God's  name,  my 
husband,  I  implore  your  forgiveness  for  having  withheld 
this  from  you  for  all  these  years.  If  you  could  but  realize 
how  much  I  have  suffered  because  of  the  omission,  I'm  sure 
you  would  forgive  me,  "  and  she  squeezed  his  head  against 
her  tear-stained  face  in  a  suppliant  throe  of  genuine  con- 
trition. 

It  was  a  remarkable,  though  not  an  uncommon  thing  in 
real  life,  that  among  several  other  contradictory  peculiarities 
of  this  Robert  Rathbone  —  this  sternly  exacting,  jealous, 
domestic  tyrant  —  was  a  susceptibility  to  woman's  tears,  but 
whether  because  of  the  impatient  irritability  they  made 
him  feel  or  of  a  not  at  all  times  discernible  generosity,  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  determine. 

No  matter  in  how  towering  a  rage  he  might  be,  if  for  some 
especially  aggravated  cause,  he  had  driven  his  wife  to  tears 
—  rare  things  with  her  in  her  acquired  evenness  of  temper 
and  patient  resignation — he  had  always  been  measurably 
quieted. 

He  had  an  abhorrence  of  a  scene  involving  grief,  and  any 
manifestation  of  lachrymose  sentimentality  in  man  or 
woman,  put  him  out  of  all  patience,  and  caused  him  to  pull 
himself  inside  of  his  coldly  impenetrable  dignity  with  the 
disgust  of  a  thwarted  snapping  turtle. 

It  was  this  uninviting  shell  of  dignity,  mingled  with  an 
English  taciturnity  of  pride,  and  a  repugnance  to  admitting 
discomfiture  in  anything  which  had  enabled  him  to  assume 
ignorance  of  his  wife's  love  experience  with  Gustavus  Ford. 

He  had  become  aware  of  the  facts  in  respect  of  it  shortly 
after  their  marriage  through  a  garrulous  younger  brother  of 


ijj 


m 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


139 


an 


hers;  and  after  a  searching  investigation  (of  course  unknown 
to  his  wife),  having  become  convinced  that  nothing 
absolutely  criminal  had  ever  taken  place  between  the 
erstwhile  lovers,  he  had  held  his  pence. 

Ilowbeit  from  the  information  so  obtained,  there  had 
incontinently  germinated  a  shadowy,  all -pervading  phantom 
which  got  into  the  way  of  mounting  guard  over  his  morbidly 
jaundiced  secret  broodings. 

Now,  however,  that  he  had  heard  the  long  withheld  story 
from  his  wife's  own  trembling  lips,  a  transfiguration  had 
forthwith  taken  place. 

The  aforesaid  shadowy  phantom,  instead  of  vaporizing 
into  the  ethereal  blue  of  unclouded  confidence,  from  that 
hour  gradually  assumed  the  impalpable  proportions  of  a  full 
fledged  skeleton,  destined  periodically  to  stalk  abroad  with 
discordant  and  disturbing  footfall  amidst  the  lares  and 
penates  of  the  Rathbone  domestic  household,  having  its 
habitat  within  the  proverbial  closet  thereof. 

The  transformation  which  had  thus  taken  place,  it  will 
therefore  be  understood,  had  been  inaugurated  on  that 
memorable  evening,  before  the  crackling,  open  wood  fire  in 
the  favorite  little  sitting  room  of  the  Rathbone  mansion, 
when  the  head  of  the  establishment  negatively  forgave  his 
suppliant,  tear-stained  little  wife  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
which  marked  the  death  of  Gustavus  Ford. 

Mayhap  if  the  now  freed  spirit  of  the  dead  man  had  con- 
tinued in  the  flesh,  the  metamorphosis  would  never  have 
taken  place. 

Is  there  not  such  a  thing  as  greater  jealousy  of  the  dead 
than  of  the  living  ? 


;■;  i 


■  .! 


».,  tj 


140 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Is  it  a  rare  thing  in  this  wretched  round  of  misery  of  ours, 
called  life,  that  the  peace  of  mind  of  the  living  should  be 
put  to  flight  by  the  post  mortem  developments  in  respect  of 
a  deceased,  one-time  lover — one's  predecessor  in  the  change- 
ful affections  of  the  living  relict,  as  for  instance? 

At  all  events,  it  was  in  this  way  that  the  death  of  his 
wife's  girlhood  lover  affected  the  morbidly  jealous  mis- 
givings of  Robert  Rathbone. 


''"■'r^ 


I 
I 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The   Vagaries  of  a  Domestic  Skeleton,  and  One  of  the  Remits  of  a 

Mixed  Marriage, 

npHE  READER,  gentle  or  otherwise,  would  seem  to  be 
-^  entitled  to  an  apology  for  the  "  ancient  history  "  in 
respect  of  these  chronicles  perpetrated  in  the  last  chapter. 

The  retrospect,  however,  seemed  indispensable  to  a  proper 
undei'standing  of  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  Rathbone  domestic 
skeleton ;  and  in  that  there  would  be  but  little  left  herein 
to  record  that  that  grimly  immaterial  ogre  had  not  some- 
thing, directly  or  indirectly,  to  do  with  the  digression,  will, 
perhaps,  be  kindly  condoned. 

Domestic  skeletons,  both  material  and  immaterial,  are 
like  race  horses ;  they  "  go  "  in  ail  shapes,  and,  the  proverb 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  their  abode  is  not  neces- 
sarily always  within  the  mysterious  cubbie-hole  or  secret 
closet  of  the  family  habitation. 

In  this  instance  the  abiding-place  of  the  Rathbone  skele- 
ton was  largely  within  the  jaundiced  imagination  of 
Robert  Rathbone ;  and  although  its  raison  detre  was  seem- 
ingly based  upon  a  wholely  insufficient  and  unwarrantable 
foundation,  on  occasion  it  was  wont  to  swoop  forth  and  do 
yeoman's  service  as  a  despoiler  of  the  peace  and  harmony  of 
the  Rathbone  family.  At  one  time  during  the  earlier 
period,  after  its  incubation,  its  favorite  object  of  attack  was 
the  alleged  priestly  influence  the  wife  was  subject  to ;  and 

(141) 


142 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


f-. 


any  marked  attention,  however  conventionally  correct, 
shown  by  a  gentleman  acquaintance  to  the  long-suffering 
little  woman  invariably  caused  an  ominous  rattling  of 
impalpable  bones  and  a  discordant  clanking  of  jealous  mar- 
ital  chains  within  the  inner  domestic  sanctum.  These  two 
erstwhile,  ever-fertile  causes  of  the  skeleton's  depredations 
upon  the  happiness  and  contentment  of  the  family  were,  in 
due  course,  largely  lived  down  by  reason  of  the  imperturb- 
able amiability  of  the  little  wife  and  mother,  coupled  with 
her  diplomatic  management  of  her  exacting  lord  and  master. 

Eobert  Rathbone,  voluptuary  that  he  had  gotten  to  be  of 
late  years,  had  gradually  grown  to  regard  his  wife  as  a  sort 
of  female  butler  and  caterer  to  his  household,  and  coddler- 
general  to  his  increasingly  obese  person. 

Upon  his  wife's  staff  in  the  latter  capacity  his  two 
daughters  had  of  late  proven  themselves  effective  aids,  but 
not  so  his  unfortunate  son  and  heir,  Jack. 

Around  and  about  this  adventurous  youth  there  now 
hovered— ever  upon  mischief  bent — all  the  portentous 
promptings  of  a  green-eyed,  abnormal  imagination. 

Many  a  Machiavelian  stroke  of  policy  and  finesse  had 
Mrs.  Rathbone  and  the  girls  perpetrated  in  the  interests  of 
their  beloved  Jack  within  these  last  two  years. 

Often  had  his  banishment  from  the  household  been 
threatened  in  the  privacy  of  the  parental  bedroom;  but, 
thanks  to  the  diplomatic  methods  of  the  mother  and  sisters, 
up  to  this  time  nothing  had  been  openly  enunciated  in 
respect  of  what  disposition  there  was  to  be  made  of  him. 

Things  certainly  could  not  continue  as  they  had  done 
for  the  year  last  past. 


BORDER  CAXUCKS. 


143 


Within  the  last  eighteen  months  the  comparatively 
small  boy  had  merged  into  a  well-developed  youth  now 
upon  the  verge  of  manhood;  and  his  father's  apparent 
indifference  of  him  at  the  outset  of  that  period,  had  now 
grown  into  a  feeling  closely  trenching  upon  an  active  and 
progressive  dislike. 

He  had  never  been  a  bad  boy,  though  from  a  strictly 
ethical  point  of  view,  he  had  perhaps  not  been  an  especially 
good  one.  He  had  unquestionably  been  what  is  commonly 
known  as  a  generously  good-natured,  wild  boy;  but  his 
wildness  chiefly  consisted  in  the  practice  of  those  sports  and 
pastimes  his  father  had  actively  encouraged  him  in  a  fond- 
ness for  when  he  was  an  urchin. 

He  was  much  given  to  shooting  and  fishing,  and  in  the 
prosecution  of  these  sports  had  occasionally  overstepped 
the  limits  of  parental  discipline,  but  not  to  any  heinous 
extent. 

He  was  passionately  fond  of  horses,  and  as  has  been 
shown,  an  enthusiastic  votary  of  any  kind  of  horse  racing, 
but  in  this  he  was  only  following  the  example  of  his  father, 
who  himself  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  turf  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  local  trotting  association. 

He  had  a  prediliction  for  game  fowls,  which  his  father 
too  had  at  one  time  encouraged  him  in  the  breeding  of. 

With  something  of  credit  to  his  discernment  as  a  judge  of 
of  the  points  of  a  cock,  he  had  gone  through  the  "  rooster 
swapping"  period  of  early  boyhood  with  not  a  little  ec^ai 
among  his  contemporary  small  boys  who  had  cocks  to 
barter  and  exchange.      Later  on  he  had  been  generally 


IM 


w%,  i 


144 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


recognized  by  local  cock  fanciers,  as  an  appreciative 
connoisseur  of  what  constituted  a  good  bird. 

This  reputation  had  led  him  into  frequent  temptations  to 
surreptitiously  attend  the  occasional  cocking  mains  held  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  it  must  be  reluctantly  confessed 
that  he  had  two  or  three  times  been  inveigled  into  giving 
away  to  the  same,  but  always  with  a  negative  sort  of  grati- 
fication. Each  time  he  had  gone  to  witness  a  battle  he  had 
felt  like  an  outlaw  (as  in  truth  he  was)  while  the  so-called 
sport  was  in  progress,  and  a  guilty  culprit  after  the  excite- 
ment was  over. 

It  is  therefore  safe  to  say  that  he  will  have  outgrown  any 
taste  for  cock-fighting  as  a  sport  or  pastime  with  the  coming 
of  maturer  years. 

But  it  will  thus  be  seen  that  Master  Jack  Rathbone  had 
never  at  any  time  been  one  of  the  goody-good  order  of 
youths.  Yet  his  father  in  view  of  the  part  he  had  taken 
in  fixing  the  tastes  and  inclinations  of  his  one-time  little 
boy,  was  scarcely  justified  in  treating  his  well-nigh  full 
grown  son  with  the  impatience  and  harshness  he  had  several 
times  of  late  exhibited  towards  him. 

The  truth  was  that  the  sepulchral  ogre  fostered  and 
cherished  within  the  fetid  confines  of  the  father's  abnormal 
and  unnaturally  jealous  inner  consciousness,  having  tired  of 
its  one-time  frequently  recurring  attacks  upon  the  patient 
mother,  had  within  the  last  two  years  settled  upon  her 
idolized  son. 

Thus  it  was  that  Jack's  premonition  of  trouble  for  having 
allowed  himself  to  be  cajoled  into  remaining  over  at  Belle 


iil; 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


145 


River  for  the  Widow  Martin's  ball  stood  a  very  fair  chance 
of  realization. 

Oil  that  evening  Mr.  Robert  Rathbone  returned  from  his 
counting  house  to  his  luxuriously  comfortable  home  in  an 
especially  disordered  frame  of  mind. 

Things  had  not  gone  rightly  with  his  business  during  the 
day. 

The  mercantile  house  of  Rathbone  &  Ritter  had,  that 
morning,  received  intelligence  of  the  fraudulent  failure  and 
flight  to  Canada  of  one  of  their  wholesale  department's 
heaviest  country  customers,  entailing  an  inevitable  loss  to 
the  firm  of  some  three  or  four  thousand  dollars — a  meie 
bagatelle,  it  is  true,  but  aggravating  withal  because  of  cer- 
tain exceptionally  annoying  circumstances  attending  the 
transaction  involved. 

The  commercial  traveller  for  the  house,  who  had  sold  the 
last  bill  of  goods  to  the  fugitive  delinquent,  happened  to  be 
in  the  city,  and  the  senior  partner  had  sent  for  him,  taken 
him  into  his  private  office,  and,  after  locking  the  door,  with 
a  sternly  determined  mien  proceeded  to  give  him  a  going 
over  in  good  set  terms.  This,  however,  the  characteristic- 
ally cheeky  and  independent,  albeit  blameless,  drummer 
neither  did  not  deserve  nor  would  not  take. 

Reference  to  the  letter  book  went  to  show  that  the  order, 
which  now  could  be  debited  to  Profit  and  Loss,  had  been 
filled  in  pursuance  of  Mr.  Rathbone's  own  personal  instruc- 
tions, and  that  his  peripatetic  agent  had  only  acted  under 
the  firm's  peremptory  instructions,  and  much  against  his 
own  individual  judgment  in  having  filled  the  order  at  all. 

The  drummer,  at  down-town  lunch  that  day,  had  said  to 


10 


146 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


another  knight  of  the  road  :  "  I  tell  you,  the  old  man  was 
hot  this  morning  about  that  Simpkins  failure,  and  proposed 
coming  down  on  me  with  both  feet.  But  I  wouldn't  have 
it !  It  didn't  take  me  long  to  prove  to  his  mightiness  that 
he,  individually,  alone  was  to  blame  in  the  matter,  and  that 
if  I  had  been  allowed  to  have  my  way  in  the  premises,  there 
wouldn't  have  been  any  loss  at  all,  however  small.  Of 
course,  the  loss  in  the  case  doesn't  amount  to  anything  to  a 
house  like  ours ;  but  old  Ratty  was  just  wild  when  he  found 
that  he,  and  nobody  else,  was  to  blame.  Admit  it?  Well  I 
should  smile  I  He  had  to ;  but  he  kicked'  like  a  Texan 
mule  all  the  time,  you  bet  r 

Mr.  Rathbone  had  carried  this  Texan-mule  humor  back 
to  his  mansion  in  the  evening,  and  didn't  take  it  off  with 
his  hat  and  overcoat  and  his  outside-world  suavity  and 
hang  it  up  on  the  hat  rack  in  his  spacious  entrance  hall,  to 
be  donned  again  on  his  departure  for  down  town  in  the 
morning. 

He  kept  it  right  by,  with  and  in  him  all  the  time,  and 
mixed  it  up  and  blended  it  in  with  his  aforementioned  tur- 
key-cock disposition  as  to  his  absent  son  and  heir. 

"Where  is  John?  "  he  peremptorily  demanded  of  Grace, 
his  youngest,  gum-chewing  daughter,  as  after  kissing  him 
on  his  arrival,  with  askant  countenance,  she  gazed  up  into 
his  face  searchingly,  while  he  removed  his  hat  and  overcoat 
and  hung  them  upon  the  hat  rack  in  the  hall  to  the  left  of 
the  entrance. 

Something  in  his  demeanor  and  the  tone  of  his  voice 
denoted  more  than  usual  disaster  to  Jack,  her  beloved  ally, 
whom  she  cared  for  with  that  sort  of  blindly  enthusiastic 


ii! 


BOUDEU  CANUCKS. 


U/ 


devotion  known  alone  to  short -dressed  school  girls  of  fifteen 
summers  for  their  big  brothers. 

Immediately  her  incipient  woman's  instinct  was  put  upon 
the  alert,  and  all  that  she  knew  of  policy,  f,)iesse,  diplomacy 
or  any  other  sort  of  art  she  had  the  slightest  knowledge  of, 
was  at  once  made  available  in  shielding  her  precious  bipedal 
paragon. 

Lie?  Why,  of  course  she'd  lie  for  Jack's  sake!  What 
wouldn't  she  do  for  dear  old  Jack,  who  was  always  so  good 
to  her  —  so  considerate  of  her  in  a  patronizing,  manly, 
undemonstrative  sort  of  way  ? 

If  Jack's  welfare  or  happiness  seemed  to  require  that  she 
should  make  her  way  through  an  army  of  blue-coated 
guardians  of  the  peace  to  the  inevitable  city  hall  tower,  and 
there  upon  its  apex  stand  upon  her  head,  she  would  have 
undertaken  to  do  so  with  the  utmost  sa7ig  froid. 

A  pretty  little  thing  was  this  gum-chewing  petite  sylph 
with  her  bright,  long  lashed,  dark  blue  eyes,  and  burnished 
brown  hair. 

Even  that  abomination  in  female  attire  known  as  a 
Mother  Hubbard  of  some  light  blue  material,  trimmed  with 
white,  failed  to  disguise  the  gracefulness  of  her  well- 
developed  little  figure,  with  its  shapely  little  foot  and 
ankle. 

She  was  an  immense  favorite  with  the  entire  household 
and  understood  her  father  like  a  book.  So  practiced  was 
she  in  the  arts  of  finesse  ond  diplomacy  in  her  general 
bearing  towards  him  and  withal  so  affectionate,  that  she  had 
frequently  been  called  upon  to  mtervene  in  behalf  of  some 


•iCeHl! 


148 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


k  :ll 


delinquent  member  of  the  household  that  oil  might  be  cast 
upon  an  existing  domestic  sea  of  troubles. 

She  knew  exactly  where  Jack  had  gone.  In  fact,  by 
feigning  inability  or  unwillingness  to  walk  to  the  convent 
for  her  music  lesson  that  morning,  she  had  enabled  him,  as 
per  previously  arranged  programme,  to  take  his  pony  and 
sleigh  away  from  the  premises  without  being  questioned  as 
to  where  he  was  going  before  he  came  back. 

She  liked  Charley  Ford.  Yes,  she  liked  Charley  Ford — 
at  first  because  he  was  a  friend  of  Jack's ;  and  anybod}' 
Jack  liked  she  also  must  like,  as  a  matter  of  course. 

If  Charley  Ford  had  not  been  a  friend  of  Jack's  the  prob- 
abilities were  that  she  would  never  have  known  him  at  all, 
and  then,  of  course,  she  never  could  have  had  any  feelings 
towards  him  of  any  kind  whatsoever — good,  bad  or  indif- 
ferent. 

Jack  was  always  so  good  and  so  noble,  and  Charley  Ford 
was  so  worthy  a  friend  for  him  to  have. 

And,  oh,  how  handsome  he  was  this  morning  in  his  fur- 
trimmed,  well-fitting  coat  and  becoming  cap  as  he  stood 
upon  the  curb  near  to  the  convent  gate  waitmg  for  she  a) id 
Jack  to  drive  up  and  find  him  there  as  previously  arranged ! 
How  courteously  and  pleasantly  he  had  handed  lier  out  of 
the  sleigh,  and,  after  a  few  words  of  'leV  itful  <jiiat,  1  'uv 
deferentially  ho  had  shaken  her  '  o  hand  a"d  said 
good-bye. 

She  was  so  glad  that  he  and  Jack  h;.  '  go*  o  to  the  race  at 
Belle  River  together,  and  she  so  hoped  tuat  they  might 
have  "a  real  good  time." 

She  felt  that  their  joint  interests  had  been  left  under  her 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


149 


especial  care  dnring  their  absence,  and  tlicy  might  depend 
upon  her  protection  and  defense  of  tliem  to  the  utmost  of 
her  ability. 

So  that  when  her  father  asked  "  Where  is  Jolm  ?  "  with  a 
little  tremor  of  nervousness  at  the  sternness  of  the  demand, 
she  answered :  "  I  d(jn't  know  for  a  certainty  where  ho  went 
to,  papa;  but  I  believe  when  he  went  out  he  intended  driv- 
ing up  to  see  how  Mr.  llamilton  is — poor  old  man !  One 
of  the  day  scholars  at  the  convent,  who  lives  up  near  where 
tilt*  Hamiltons  do,  told  me  that  he  was  very  low,  indeed." 
and  a  benign  hjok  of  scrai)hieally  sympathetic  melancholy 
over-spread  the  innocent,  young  fiuie. 

Mr.  Hamilton,  an  old  Edinborough  University  man,  had 
occupied  the  position  of  private  tutor  to  Jack  and  two  other 
gentlemen's  young  sons  until  a  fortnight  previous,  since 
which  he  had  been  confined  to  his  house,  two  miles  up  tlie 
river  road,  with  a  severe  attack  of  bronchitis,  and  had  been 
obliged  to  forego  his  teaching. 

This  circumstance  had  furnished  Grace,  our  mendacious 
young  sylph,  with  what,  it  had  suddenly  flashed  upon  her, 
might  prove  a  plausible  and  commendable  means  of 
accounting  for  her  brother's  absence  from  the  house  at  the 
dinner  hour. 

"Stuff  and  nonsense,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Rathbone,  scoffingly ; 
"he  is  much  more  likely  to  be  consorting  with  some  of  his 
congenially  low,  cock-fighting  companions  somewhere  about 
the  slums  of  the  city." 

"Oh,  no,  papa,"  remonstrated  the  romantic  Grace,  "I 
really  do  think  he  has  gone  up  to  the  Hamiltons ;  and,"  she 


■Mi 


150 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


liilk.,.. 


hesitatingly  added,  "I  think  that  Charley  Ford  has  gone 
with  him." 

"  That  young  Ford  gone  with  him,  ay  ?  Boon  compan- 
ions, both  I  What  one  doesn't  know  about  scampishness, 
the  other  will  teach  him — arcades  ambof  " 

"Oh,  papa,  you  shouldn't  say  that  Charley  Ford  is  a 
scampi"  and  having  let  this  remonstrance  ■  xape  her 
unwittingly,  her  face  became  very  much  flushed  as  she 
nervously  clasped  her  father's  coat  sleeve  above  the  elbow 
and  accompanied  him  into  the  dining  room.  "  Every- 
body," she  tremulously  added,  as  they  passed  the  thresh- 
old, "  says  that  he's  a  very  good  young  man." 

"  Good  young  man,  ay?  "  cried  her  father.  *'  So  was  Jesse 
James  a  good  young  man  1 " 

"Oh,  papa,  I  think  it's  real  mean  of  you  to  compare 
Jack's  friends  with  thieves,"  and  the  color  left  her  bright 
young  face  for  the  instant,  as  if  she  had  been  suddenly 
startled  through  fright. 

As  father  and  daughter  entered  the  brightly  lighted,  cozy 
dining  room,  with  its  ready  laid  dinner  table  and  crackling 
grate  fire,  Mrs.  Kathbone  emerged  through  the  rear  door 
from  the  kitchen,  whither  she  had  been  to  personally  sup- 
erintend preparations  for  the  dishing  of  the  dinner. 

This  meal  of  late  years  had  gotten  to  be  a  matter  of  very 
large  importance  to  the  daily  peace  and  harmony  of  the 
Rathbone  household. 

At  the  outset  of  their  married  life  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rathbone 
had  begun  housekeeping  in  a  modest  little  home  situated 
conveniently  to  the  store,  and  there  each  day's  comparatively 
frugal  dinner  was  partaken  of  with  dispatch  and  sans  cere- 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


151 


monie  at  one  o'clock  sharp  on  working  days,  and  perhaps 
an  hour  or  so  later  on  Sundays  and  holidays.  They  had 
lived  but  six  or  seven  years  in  this  simple,  unostentatious 
way,  when  the  firm  of  Rathbone  &  Ritter  bad  sufficiently 
prospered  to  enable  the  senior  member  thereof  to  wi  .'idraw 
five  thousand  dollars  from  the  concern  and  invest  it  in  ten 
acres  of  one  of  the  narrow  French  farms  upon  which  Detroit 
is  built. 

This  was  thought  to  be  an  enormous  price  to  pay  for  so 
small  an  area  of  land  at  the  time,  but  this  methodical 
Englishman,  with  that  business  foresight  which  so  distin- 
guished him,  knew  what  he  was  about  when  he  made  the 
purchase,  as  the  sequel  proved. 

He  simply  laid  the  foundation  of  an  unusually  liberal 
fortune  by  this  one  investment. 

He  saw  that  the  old,  original  French  settlers  and  their 
descendants,  who  owned  a  large  proportion  of  the  narrow 
farms  upon  which  the  beautiful  city  was  to  grow,  with  that 
conservative  disposition  to  preserve  everything  as  it  is 
which  so  characterizes  them  as  a  race,  were  going  to  cling 
to  their  holdings  for  at  least  a  generation  to  come,  despite 
the  specious  blandishments  of  the  speculative  land  agent 

This  would  have  the  inevitable  effect  of  circumscribing 
the  limits  of  available  land  for  actual  building  or  si)ecula- 
tive  purposes,  and  thus,  by  limiting  the  supply,  increase  the 
demand  and,  of  course,  the  price,  as  a  natural  sequence. 

This  feature  in  the  history  of  Detroit's  building  up  is  not 
alone  peculiar  to  that  city. 

St,  Louis,  Missouri,  notably,  has  undergone  a  very  sim- 
ilar experience,  arising  from  exactly  similar  causes. 


iij 


152 


BOr.DEIl  CANUCKS. 


J      Ji1 


Each  of  these  large,  mctroj)olitan  centres  were  founded 
and  originally  settled  by  the  stuidy  pioneers  of  La  Nonvelk 
France,  and  it  is  probable  that  much  of  the  solidity  and  pci- 
manent  character  of  their  present  wealth  and  magnificence 
is  not  a  little  due  to  the  go-ahcad-slowly  spirit  engendered 
by  the  quaint  conservatism  of  their  old-time  French  habitant 
settlers. 

However  this  may  be,  Mr.  Rnthbone's  speculation  turned 
out  an  immense  success  and,  apart  from  any  other  of  his 
resources,  made  him  prospectively  a  rich  man. 

He  divided  the  property  into  building  lots,  and  reserved 
for  his  own  occupation  an  entire  square,  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  broad,  well  laid  out  streets. 

In  the  centre  of  this,  fronting  upon  what  is  now  one  of 
the  chief  wealthy  residence  streets  of  the  city,  he  erected  a 
si)acious,  square,  brick  house,  with  suitably  commodious  out- 
buildings, and  proceeded  to  plant  ornamental  trees  and  lay 
out  a  lawn  and  garden,  now  become  one  of  the  sights  of 
the  city.  The  house  itself,  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  was 
thought  to  be  a  magnificent  structure;  but,  by  comparison 
with  the  imposing  modern  mansions  now  so  common  in  this 
city  of  suj^fM'bl}'  commodious  residences,  as  it  nestles  in  the 
centre  of  its  s]\ncious  grounds  beneath  the  shadow  of  tall 
trees  and  its  garnishment  of  well  trained  shrubbery,  presents 
the  appearance  of  a  well  preserved  old  English  manor  house 
as  nearly  as  may  be. 

Its  plan  inside  is  unpretentious,  and  its  decorations  and 
furniture  designed  moie  for  comfort  and  long  service  than 
for  fleeting  ornamental  show. 

As  one  enters  the  lofty  main  entrance  hall  from  a  pillared 


\^K,.l 


BOIIDEU  CANUCKS. 


l-o 


oo 


vestibule  at  the  front,  if  lie  be  a  social  caller,  he  is  ushered 
into  the  large  drawing  room  to  the  left,  running  the  full 
length  of  the  building — furnished,  upholstered  and  decor- 
ated after  the  luxuriant  manner  of  households  of  American 
gentlemen  of  fortune.  While  visitors  who  call  to  see  any 
member  of  the  family,  informally  or  upon  business,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  shown  to  the  right,  past  the  foot  of  the 
broad  staircase  leading  to  the  ui)per  story,  into  an  ante- 
room of  moderate  dimensions,  which  is  also  largely  used  as 
a  living  room  and  general  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  family. 

In  this  cozy  little  room  before  a  cheerful,  open,  wood  fire- 
place, with  brass  andirons  and  other  glittering  appoint- 
ments, the  family,  when  they  are  alone,  after  a  late  dinner, 
are  wont  to  pasp.  the  long  winter  evenings.  It  also  serves 
as  a  library,  as  evidenced  by  the  tall  black  walnut  book- 
case enclosed  with  glass  doors,  which  occupies  the  space 
from  floor  to  ceiling  between  the  two  low,  French  windows 
at  the  front. 

This  contains  a  judicious  selection  of  standard  works 
upon  popular  topics  —  historical,  scientific  and  political — 
and  is  fairly  veil  stocked  with  works  of  fiction  from 
Theodore  Hook's  "Jack  Bragg"  down  to  the  latest  conven- 
tional "study"  of  the  latest  "gudiiing  maiden  fair,"  or 
hankerer  after  ephemeral  notoriety. 

Here,  too,  upon  an  ornamental  writing  desk  with  folding 
toj),  in  the  far  right-hand  corner  as  you  enter  the  room,  the 
private  letters  of  the  family  are  indited.  A  graceful  gas 
chandelier  hangs  suspended  over  the  large,  round  centre 
table,  refulgent   in     a  bright  scarlet  broad-cloth  cover. 

The  walls,  wherever  otherwise  unoccupied,  are  covered 


il;;yi;- 


;f 


154 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


■with  well  mounted,  rare,  old  steel  engravings  of  English 
rural  scenes,  and  upon  the  broad,  low,  tiled  mantel  shelf 
and  filagreed  brackets  suspended  here  and  there  about  the 
walls  are  quaint  and  unique  objects  de  vertu  and  bric-a-brac 
of  various  descriptions  and  qualities. 

In  the  rear  of  this  apartment  is  the  dining  room,  fur- 
nished and  upholstered  d  VAnglaise,  in  black  walnut  and 
scarlet  with  a  profusion  of  bright  gilt-framed  oil  paintings — 
some  of  them  works  of  no  mean  merit — covering  the  red 
papered  walls  in  every  direction. 

From  the  large  bay  window  looking  to  the  west,  and  over 
the  one  at  the  south  leading  to  the  conservatory,  bright  red 
damask  curtains  hang  suspended  to  the  floor  in  graceful 
and  ample  folds. 

The  large  oval  dining  table  is  laid  ready  for  dinner  and 
beneath  the  brilliant  light  of  the  overhanging  chandelier 
with  its  variegated  colored  lamp  shades  presents  a  refinedly 
appetizing  spectacle. 

Mrs.  Rathbone,  her  petite  and  still  youthful  figure 
enveloped  in  a  black  merino  gown,  with  scarlet  trimmings, 
a  Dolly  Varden  cap  upon  her  head  and  an  Elizabethan  ruff 
about  her  neck,  enters  the  rear  door,  which  leads  through  a 
passageway  to  the  kitchen  and  servants' apartments  just  as 
Mr.  Rathbone,  with  the  mendacious  little  sprite,  Grace, 
clinging  to  the  sleeve  of  his  right  arm,  enters  from  the  front 
entrance  hall. 

"  Ah,  Robert, "  gently  exclaimed  Mrs.  Rathbone  greeting 
her  husband  with  a  cheery  little  smile  as  she  fussily 
approached  the  open  grate  fire  place,  and  proceeded  to  take 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


155 


the  poker  in  hand  and  give  it  a  stirring  up,  "back  home 
again,  ay,  dear?" 

*'  Yes,  "  he  responded  sententiously,  as  he  pulled  out  his 
watch,  "Is  dinner  ready?" 

"It  will  beat  half  past  six  as  usual,  "  and  then  looking 
at  the  clock  on  the  mantel  piece,  she  added,  "  In  just  ten 
minutes  from  now  it  will  be  on  the  table.  " 

"That  old  Jacobin  clock,  "  he  asserted  sharply,  "is  just 
ten  minutes  slow. " 

"Oh,  Papa!"  exclaimed  Grace,  now  standing  ou  the 
hearth  rug  beside  him,  "  that  can't  be — let  me  look  at  your 
watch,"  but  he  snapped  the  case  together  and  put  it  back 
into  his  pocket  without  allowing  her  to  see  it. 

"  It  was  right  at  one  o'clock  to-day,"  persisted  Grace  whose 
ardor  was  somewhat  dampened  since  her  father's  com- 
parison of  Charley  Ford  with  the  redoubtable  Jesse  James. 
"I  know  it  was,  because  when  I  came  home  from  my  music 
lesson  to  lunch  to-day  I  compared  it  with  the  city  hall 
time  and  it  was  exactly  right." 

"  Well,  it's  not  right  now,  then,  "  he  asserted  positively. 
"  I've  no  doubt  it  has  been  regulated  to  suit  the  delinquincies 
of  that  precious  boy  John,  as  everything  else  in  this  house  is 
apparently.  " 

"Has  anything  gone  wrong  in  the  business  today 
Robert?''  asked  Mrs.  Rathbone,  with  hardening  countenance 
as  she  replaced  the  poker  in  its  stand. 

"No,  nothing  of  anj^  material  consequence,"  he  replied 
gruffly,  "  why  do  you  ask  ?" 

He  knew  that  in  view  of  the  Simpkins  failure,  this  was 


n^ 


ir.3 


]iOUI)KR  CANUCJC3. 


':{;,;,■ 


not  true,  but  he  had  ever  made  it  a  rule  never  to  discuss 
his  business  matters  at  home. 

This  would  have  been  trenching  too  much  upon  the 
supremacy  of  his  domestic  dictatorship,  and  his  wife  had 
therefore  been  kept  as  much  in  the  dark  as  to  the  actual 
condition  of  his  business  affairs  as  the  veriest  stranger. 

He  had  periodically  talked  with  her  and  given  her  a 
showing  of  the  investments  he  had  made  of  the  compara- 
tively small  patrimony  she  had  inherited  from  her  father, 
but  with  reference  to  his  own  business  proper  he  was  ever 
silent. 

Hence  it  was,  that  to  her  well-nigh  unprecedented  request 
to  know  whether  anything  had  gone  wrong  in  the  business 
he  had  made  the  mendacious  reply  he  had,  and  asked  why 
she  wanted  to  know. 

"  I  only  thought,  "  she  said,  in  a  voice  with  something  of 
a  nervous  tremor  in  it,  "  that  you  seem  to  have  come  home 
in  a  very  bad  humor.  " 

"  I  won't  at  all  admit  that  I  have  come  home  in  a  bad 
humor, "  he  oracularly  insisted,  "  and  even  if  I  had  it 
wouldn't  have  originated  in  my  office.  1  think  by  this  time 
you  ought  to  know  that  I  never  allow  the  state  of  my  busi- 
ness to  influence  my  conduct  at  home.  I  must  say,  how- 
ever, that  the  state  of  my  domestic  surroundings  are  day  by 
day  becoming  more  disagreeably  unpleasant !" 

And  then  having  seated  himself  in  an  arm  chair,  facing 
the  fire-place,  with  his  back  to  the  chandelier,  he  proceeded 
i;0  open  up  the  evening  paper  with  a  sort  of  "  You-daren't- 
knock-the-chip-o2-my-shoulder  "  air. 

To  this,  the  now  much  disturbed  little  wife,  pursuing  her 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


157 


usual  policy  of  silence  until  the  clouds  rolled  by,  would 
liave  responded  nothing  but  for  the  interposition  of  Grace. 

That  sylph-like  ati J  somewhat  rufllcd  young  person,  seat- 
ing herself  on  her  father's  knee,  with  a  pout  and  in  injured 
tones  coqiiettishly  observed:  "It's  too  bad  that  you  don't 
like  any  of  us  any  more  1 " 

"What  stuff  and  nonsense  1 "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  threw 
down  the  paper  at  the  side  of  his  chair  and  arose  to  his  feet 
again.  "My  feelings  towards  you  and  your  mother  and 
Emily  are  as  they  ever  have  been,  and  I  hope  always  will 
be  ;  but  I'm  free  to  admit  that  I  am  becoming  tired  of  being 
made  a  convenience  of  and  of  having  this  house  made  a 
boarding  and  lodging  quarters  for  the  more  especial  accom- 
modation of  an  idle,  worthless  young  cub  !  "  and,  after  glar- 
ing for  an  instant  at  the  now  agitated  little  wife,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  pace  back  and  forth  across  the  room  with  scowl- 
ing countenance. 

The  cat  was  out! 

Mr.  Rathbone  had  succeeded  in  working  himself  into  a 
rage  at  his  truant  hete  noir  son,  and  in  doing  so  had  made 
the  patient  mother  rather  more  uncontrollably  out  of  temper 
for  the  moment  than  she  had  ever  allowed  herself  to  be 
before  throughout  their  whole  married  life.  She  had  suc- 
ceeded heretofore,  by  the  practice  of  a  studied  system  of 
forbearance  and  self-denial,  in  at  least  curbing  the  trucu- 
lence  of  her  exacting  husband's  jealous  temper.  Perhaps, 
if  she  had  been  somewhat  more  self-assertive  and  com- 
bative in  her  treatment  of  him  when  he  had  been  seized 
with  these  periodical  tantrums,  she  might  have  contrived  to 
tide  them  over  with  less  of  humiliating  jibes  and  jest  to 


% 


I 


158 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


bear.  For  Mr.  Ratlibone  was  essentially  one  of  those  genus 
lords  of  creation  whose  blustering  bark,  being  more  bitter 
than  their  bite,  would  have,  in  all  likelibood,  been  managed 
better  by  a  little  determined  opposition  and  retaliation. 

But  the  chastening  and  subduing  influence  her  girlhood 
disappointment  as  to  Gustavus  Ford  had  had  upon  her 
interest  in  her  early  married  life,  coupled  with  the  inner 
consciousness  that  she  was  every  day  living  in  the  guilt  of 
having  withheld  from  her  husband  that  which  he  sliould 
have  known  before  he  had  made  her  his  wife,  had  enabled 
her  to  practice  all  her  inherent  amiability  and  evenness  of 
temper  with  fairly  successful  results  —  not,  however,  with- 
out much  to  bear  of  misery  and  humiliation.  For  herself, 
in  looking  back  upon  these  bitter  trials,  she  did  not  so  much 
care.  But  this  comparatively  new  feature  in  her  crown  of 
sorrows  —  this  perpetual  scolding  about  her  darling  boy, 
Jack,  for  no  sufficient  cause,  was  more  than  she  could  bear. 
And  tocall  him  a  worthless  young  cub  I  This  was  outrageous, 
and  nothing  had  occurred  between  them  for  a  long  time  that 
had  made  her  feel  more  pugnaciously  retaliatory  than  this. 

She  understood  her  husband  thoroughly. 

She  knew  his  every  indiosyncrasy.  She  knew  that  as  a 
sort  of  freak  in  human  motives  he  was  insanely  jealous  of 
the  love  and  consideration  shown  by  herself  and  the  girls 
for  Jack;  and  she  had  long  ago  cautioned  both  Emily  and 
Grace  not  to  be  unnecessarily  demonstrative  of  their 
affection  for  their  brother  in  the  presence  of  their  father. 

For  herself,  she  had  often  dissembled  or  disguised  her 
intense  love  and  devotion  for  her  son  that  his  father's 
temper  might  not  be  ruffled. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


159 


Oftentimes  she  had  apparently  seemed  coldly  indifferent 
when  Jack's  interests  were  involved,  while  in  fact  she  had 
felt  the  most  absorbing  anxiety  about  them. 

When  he  had  finished  at  the  local  public  school  and  it 
became  necessary  to  consider  the  best  means  of  topping  off 
the  elementary  teachings  obtained  there  with  the  higher 
instruction  furnished  by  a  finishing  school  or  college,  she 
had  fondly  wished  that  he  might  be  sent  to  one  of  her  own 
denominational  institutions  either  in  the  States  or  Canada. 

But  in  view  of  their  marriage  compact  with  reference  to 
the  rearing  of  the  children  she  had  hesitated  about  giving 
utterance  to  the  wish. 

She  had  been  allowed  free  scope  in  the  religious  and 
secular  bringing  up  of  their  daughters,  and  under  these  cir- 
cumstances it  was  only  just  that  her  husband  should  be 
equally  untrammeled  in  the  education  of  their  son. 

With  insular  superciliousness,  sometimes  the  outcome  of 
ignorant  prejudice,  and  sometimes  the  offspring  of  an 
ineradicable  j^^nchaiit  for  "every  thiJik  English  you  know." 
Mr.  Kathbone  regarded  the  great  institutions  of  learning  on 
this  continent  en  masse  as  Brummagum  establishments  of 
the  most  pronounced  kind. 

He  would  have  liked  to  have  sent  his  son  home  to 
England  to  finish  his  education  at  one  of  the  ancient  schools 
or  colleges  of  his  fatherland,  but  to  this  suggestion  his  wife 
had  raised  the  objection  tLtt  it  would  be  sending  him  too 
far  way  from  home,  and  that  it  would  make  her  very 
unhappy  to  have  the  broad  Atlantic  'twixt  her  and  her 
idolized  boy. 

Eecognizing  the  naturalness  of  this  feeling  on  the  part  of 


160 


BORDER  CAXCCKa 


'% 

<.!# 


m^ 


1    -f   '  i' 


his  patient  wife,  and  having  become  measurably  indifferent 
about  what  concerned  his  half-fledged  son,  Mr,  Rathbone 
had  proposed  that  the  services  of  a  private  tutor  might  be 
secured  and  the  boy's  education  completed  at  home. 

This  had  been  done  accordingly,  to  the  profound  satis- 
faction of  the  mother — the  foundation  thereby  being  laid  for 
much  paternal  snarling  and  growling. 

Nothing,  however,  up  to  this  time  had  occurred  which 
wifely  diplomacy  and  maternal  devotion  had  been  unable  to 
cope  with.  Certainly  nothing  so  portentous  of  disaster  to 
Jack  as  this  outbreak  had  ever  manifested  itself  before. 
The  idea  of  calling  her  poor,  dear,  unjustly  abused  boy  "an 
idle,  worthless  young  cub,"  and  that  in  the  presence  of  his 
little  sister,  tool  This  was  more  than  she  would  silently 
put  up  with !  She  must  say  something  in  remonstrance ; 
but,  oh,  how  tremblingly  agitated  she  was  with  indignation ! 
She  became  as  pale  as  the  white  rufi  about  her  neck  and 
she  shook  like  a  leaf  as,  straightening  herself  up,  with  flash- 
ing eyes,  she  said  :  "  Robert,  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
3'ourself  for  feeling  the  wickedness  you  do  towards  your 
own  son,  whom  everybody  gets  on  well  with  except  his 
own,  unnatural  father  ! " 

"  I  suppose  by  everybody,"  cried  the  head  of  the  house, 
still  emulating  the  perambulating,  caged  tiger,  "you  mean 
every  stable  boy  and  cock-fighter  in  the  neighborhood  !  " 

"I  do  not !"  vehemently  rejoined  the  little  mother,  her 
pent  up  temper  now  fully  aflame;  "I  mean  his  own  equals, 
everywhere  1  And  as  for  his  present  fancy  for  fowls  and 
horses,  he  will  grow  out  of  that — and  he  never  would  have 
had  it  at  all  to  the  extent  he  has  if  it  had  not  been  for  your 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


161 


her 
uals, 

and 
have 
your 


example  and  encouragement  of  it  when  he  was  a  little 
fellow  1" 

This  was  a  long  speech  for  the  tremulously  amiable,  little 
woman  in  her  present  unusually  excited  condition,  and 
from  sheer  exhaustion  she  leaned  her  head  uj)on  her  right 
arm  as  it  rested  upon  the  low  chimney  mantel  and  panted 
for  breath. 

"That's  right ! "  he  replied,  bitterly,  as  he  wheeled  about 
in  his  pacing  of  the  floor,  "  blame  me  ;  I  get  the  blainc  for 
everything !  Perhaps  I  am  responsible  for  his  whereabouts, 
God  knows  where,  at  the  present  moment!  Probably  in 
the  harness  room  of  some  public  stable  in  the  city,  or  maybe 
in  some  cock-pit  in  the  purlieus  of  the  town  !  Perhaps  I 
am  to  blame,"  he  continued,  with  rising  intonation,  as  he 
pursued  his  vibatory  walk,  "  for  his  constantly  repeated 
absence  from  his  meals  with  the  rest  of  us,  and  his  prowling 
into  the  house  at  all  hours  of  the  night  and  day  that  hap- 
pens to  suit  his  convenience ! " 

"Oh,  papa!  "  poutingly  remonstrated  Grace,  seated  upon 
an  arm  of  her  father's  recently  vacated  chair,  "  Jack  doesn't 
prowl ! " 

"Silence,  miss!"'  he  thundered,  as  with  a  stamp  of  his 
foot  he  came  to  a  stand,  and  flaslied  down  upor^  his  young- 
est born  with  glittering  glare  and  reddening  countenance. 

This  outbreak  so  startled  the  unfortunate  sylphide  that 
she  involuntarily  jumped  to  her  feet,  and  gazing  agliast  for 
an  instant  into  the  gleaming  eyes  of  her  ferocious  parent, 
she  burst  into  tears  and  rushed  out  of  the  room. 

There  was  now  a  pause  of  fiercely  palpitating  silence, 
11 


162 


BORDEK  CANUCKS. 


■which,  after  an  instant  or  so,  was  broken  by  the  little 
mother. 

"  Robert  Rathbone  1 "  she  said,  as  she  straightened  herself 
up  from  the  mantel  piece,  "  you  can  be  the  most  uncon- 
scionable bully  in  the  world  when  you  like !  It  would 
seem  as  if  you  could  not  help  being  so;  but  surely  Goil 
will  some  day  punish  you  for  the  unnatural  feelings  you 
have  towards  your  own  son !  " 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  this  was  an  unprecedentedly  bitter 
speech  as  eminating  from  this  subdued  and  patient  little 
woman ;  but 

"The  smallest  worm  will  turn,  being  trodden  on," 

and  her  lord  and  master  was  brought  to  a  stand  and  ren- 
dered dumb  for  the  instant  by  the  novelty  of  it.  He  glared 
at  her  aghast,  at  a  loss  what  to  say,  while  the  old-fashioned 
hall  clock  painfully  resounded  forth  four  or  five  slowly, 
deliberate  ticks  of  its  long  pendulum. 

Then  his  momentarily  suspended  rage  fumed  forth  again 
with  redoubled  vigor,  and  the  family  skeleton  emerged  from 
its  closet  in  self-assertive  sway  as,  resuming  his  pacing  of 
the  floor,  with  a  demoniacal  chuckle,  he  said :  "ii^son, 
ay  ?  Ha,  ha,  umph  !  My  son  ?  I  have  very  grave  doubts 
about  his  being  my  son !  " 

If  this  venomous  insinuation,  before  it  was  uttered,  had 
been  materialized  into  a  billet  of  wood  and  thrown  at  her 
full  in  the  face,  it  could  not  have  subjected  her  nervous 
system  to  a  greater  shock,  or  been  more  paralyzing  in  its 
effects. 

She  recoiled,  and  her  face  blanched  as  with  the  startled 


BOHDER  CANUCKS. 


163 


liorror  she  might  have  felt  luid  she  suddenly  come  upon  a 
threatening  snuke. 

She  gave  two  or  three  long,  gasping  gulps  for  breath  and 
looked  for  an  instant  as  if  she  might  sink  limp  and  prone 
upon  the  hearth  rug. 

Then,  with  great  apparent  effort,  she  straightened  her 
petite  figure  up  to  its  full  height  and,  throwing  back  her 
head,  put  her  kit  hand  to  her  forehead  as  she  steadied  her- 
self with  her  right  upon  the  mantel  piece,  while  she  mut- 
tered a  prayer  f.)r  patience. 

Then,  with  solemn  dignity,  she  followed  her  husband 
with  her  eyes  as  he  pursued  his  vibratory  walk,  and  in  sub- 
dued and  deliberate  tones  said  :  "  Robert,  if  you  had  said 
that  five  minutes  before,  while  Gracie  was?  in  the  room,  I 
should  have  left  this  house,  never  to  return  to  it ! " 

And,  without  further  parley,  she  slowly,  and  with  faltering 
steps,  as  one  weakened  from  illness,  glided  out  into  the 
entrance  hall  and  thence  up  the  broad  stair  case  to  the  floor 
above,  leaving  her  lord  and  master  and  the  family  skeleton 
in  full  and  undisputed  possession  of  the  regions  below. 

But  this  undisputed  possession  profited  the  skeleton 
nothing,  as  the  lord  and  master  became  conscious  of  a 
rising  suspicion  that  he  had  made  a  brute  of  himself. 

Was  marriage  a  failure  ?  Yes  I  most  emphatically,  yes. 
Marriage  ivas  a  failure. 

He  wished  to  God  he  had  never  been  married.  Ilowbeit 
since  he  was  married  he  would  not  shirk  its  respons- 
ibilities. One  of  these  was  the  enforcement  of  a  proper 
observance  of  discipline  in  his  own  domestic  household,  and 
this  lie  was  bound  to  do  from  this  time  forward. 


»,!  St;  <■'.■■  j^ 


164 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


He  ceased  his  pacing  of  the  heavily  Turkej-carpeted 
floor  and  threw  himself  down  into  his  own  especial  arm 
chair,  and  gazing  absorbedly  upon  the  glowing  grate  fire, 
ruminated  upon  the  situation. 

Under  the  baleful  influence  of  the  family  skeleton,  for 
the  first  time  in  all  his  married  life,  he  had  openly  referred 
in  so  many  words  to  the  disturbing  phantom  of  jealous  sus- 
picion, which,  for  its  first  few  years,  had  periodically  black- 
ened his  innermost  thoughts  and  gnawed  at  his  jaundiced 
heart. 

He  had  harked  back  to  a  tentative  night-mare  period  of 
existence,  which  his  wife's  long-suffering  patience  and 
attention  to  his  every  wish  and  want  had,  to  some  extent, 
lived  down  years  ago. 

And  who  had  driven  him  to  this  ?  John !  That  incor- 
rigible boy,  John,  whom  his  wife  and  daughters,  dissemble 
as  they  might,  regarded  with  greater  consideration  than  they 
did  himself. 

How  could  he  decently,  without  laying  the  foundation 
for  a  scandal  among  the  friends  of  the  family,  get  rid  of  this 
incubus  upon  his  happiness  in  his  own  househeld? 

He  would  see  if  something  could  not  be  done  in  the 
premises  to-morrow. 

Meanwhile  his  better  nature  and  his  sense  of  justice 
were  beginning  to  assert  themselves.  There  was  no  manner 
of  doubt  but  that  he  had  been  unwarrantably  brutal  to  his 
wife  and  little  Gracie. 

The  trim  wai Ling-maid  here  appeared  at  the  rear  door 
with  the  first  installment  of  the  dinner. 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


165 


He  would  run  up  to  liis  dressing  room  and  wash  his 
hands  and  brush  his  hair  as  was  his  wont  before  sittinor 

O 

down. 

As  he  came  to  the  head  of  the  stairs  on  his  return  to  the 
dining  room,  he  paused  for  an  instant,  and  facing  the 
lighted  transom  over  the  door  of  his  wife's  and  his  own  joint 
bedroom,  he  called  out  in  as  conciliatory  and  apologetic  a 
voice  as  he  could  command,  "Come  Emily,  dinner  is  on! 
Come  Gracie!" 

But  there  came  no  audible  response. 

A  painful  and  ominous  silence  pervaded  the  upper  floor 
of  the  Eathbone  mansion  for  the  nonce. 

Down  stairs  in  the  dining  room,  while  the  inviting  repast 
smoked  upon  the  snowy  damask-covered  table,  with  its 
costly  dinner  service,  and  well  appointed  plate  and  glass 
ware,  the  hushed  stillness  of  everything  was  still  more 
apparent,  and  the  crackling,  grate  fire  brought  out  in 
bold  and  disagreeable  relief  the  discordant  condition  of  the 
domestic  atmosphere. 

He  would  not  sit  down  to  dinner  alone.  lie  would  wait 
for  liis  wife  and  daughter.  Surely  they  could  not  ignore 
his  pacific  announcement  of  its  being  on  the  table. 

Meanwhile,  with  noiseless  slackened  footfall,  he  resumed 
his  ante-bellum  pacing  of  the  floor  until  the  opening  and 
closing  of  a  door  upstairs,  followed  by  light  and  hesitating 
descending  footsteps  upon  tlic  stair  case,  betokened  the 
coming  of  his  wife  or  youngest  daughter. 

He  had  time  to  take  two  or  three  leisurely  turns  up  and 
down  before  he  at  last  veered  about  at  the  far  end  of  the 
room  and' beheld  Grace  nervously  absorbed  in  plucking  at  a 


MmM 


166 


UOUDEli   CANUCKS. 


thread  of  yarn  she  held  between  the  first  finger  and  thumb 
of  her  left  hand,  standing  iu  the  doorway  leading  to  the 
entrance  hall. 

The  unfortunate  sylphidc  was  very  mucli  swollen  of  eye- 
lids and  flush'^d  of  face — her  cheeks  shining  in  thegas-light 
with  refulgent  polish. 

"  Is  your  mother  not  coming  down  to  dinner,  Gracio  ?"  he 
asked  as  he  slowly  approached  her. 

"No,  papa,"  she  replied,  with  an  involuntary  volley  of 
childlike  inward  sobs,  "'  she  says  she  has  a  headaclie  and 
ho}>es  you  will  excuse  her  if  she  doesn't  come  down.  ' 

"Ah,  she's  not  coming  to  dinner,  ay?"  he  re[)eated  as 
going  up  to  his  youngest  born,  he  took  her  hand  in  his  '.nd 
patting  her  upon  the  bowed  head,  he  stooped  over  and 
kissed  her  swollen,  glistening  cheek,  whereat  the  sylphide's 
pent-up,  injured  feelings  again  burst  forth  into  a  flood  of 
gushing  tears. 

"  There,  there  now,  '*  he  said  in  deprecating  voice,  as  he 
put  his  arm  around  her  little  figure  and  endeavored  to 
pacify  her,  "don't  cry,  my  dear!  Don't  cry,  there's  a  good 
child.  Let  bygones  be  bygones  and  forgive  your  old  father 
who  is  sorry  for  being  harsh  with  his  poor  little  girl,  "  and 
he  kissed  her  again. 

This  was  enough  for  the  forgiving,  albeit  coquettish,  pet  of 
the  house. 

She  looked  up  smilingly  through  her  sobbing  tears,  and 
gushingly  throwing  bor  arms  around  her  father's  neck,  she 
gave  him  a  resounding  smack  upon  the  cheek  with  her 
burning,  quivering  lips. 

"Come   now,  dear,  there's  a   good   little  girl,"  he  said, 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


167 


gently  disengaging  liimsclf  from  her  twining  arms  and 
straightening  liiniself  up  "Come,  since  your  motlicr  is  not 
corning  down,  you  and  I  must  make  the  best  of  the  dinner 
all  by  oura<L'ives. 

"  Now,  dear,  you  take  your  mamma's  place  at  the 
head  of  the  table  and  be  mistress,  and  I'll  take  mine  at  the 
other  end  am]  be  your  abject  slave  for  the  rest  of  the  even- 


ing. 


But  out  of  this  arrangement  there  came  but  little  joy  or 
satisfaction. 

To  her  father's  spasmodic  cfTorts  to  cheer  her  up  and 
smooth  matters  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  the  j)oor  syl[)h 
was  far  too  nervously  anxious  because  of  the  portentous  turn 
alTairs  had  taken  in  respect  of  Jack. 

She  would  do  anything  ir  the  world  in  Ler  power  to  help 
her  brotlier  out  of  the  trouble  she  felt  was  inevitably  in 
store  for  him  on  his  return  from  Belle  River.  She  of  course 
was  not  afraid  that  Jack  would  be  flogged.  She  knew  that 
the  days  of  that  kind  of  punishment  in  the  household  had 
gone  by;  and  she  derived  one  further  bit  of  consolation  by 
bringing  to  mind  some  of  the  numerous  previous  occasions 
on  which  her  mamma,  in  her  quiet  way,  had  contrived  to 
rescue  dear  old  Jack  from  threateningly  direful  con- 
sequences. 

There  was  one  thing,  however,  she  could  not  rid  her 
thoughts  of,  and  that  was  that  it  was  very  wicked  and 
uncharitable  of  her  father  to  compare  Charley  Ford  with 
that  horrible  outlaw,  Jesse  James. 

She  icnew  that  the  ferry  boats  across  from  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  river  ran  until  a  late  hour,  and  up  to  this  time  it 


?ral 


.J!* 


168 


BOllDEK   CANUCKS, 


MM 


had  never  occurred  to  her  but  that  Jack  would  return  some 
time  during  that  evening. 

If  she  had  known  the  true  state  of  the  case,  and  that  at 
that  very  moment  both  Charley  Ford  and  Jack  respect- 
ively, with  a  pretty  French  girl  hanging  upon  their  respect- 
ive right  arms,  were  hilariously  witnessing  the  struggle  for 
supremacy  in  the  two-handed  reel  twixt  the  sportive  Madam 
Martin  and  Peter  Bertrand  at  the  widow's  ball,  her  ner- 
vously troubled  condition  might  not  have  been  quite  so 
poignant  as  it  actually  was. 

Perhaps  her  anxiety  about  the  outcome  of  it  all  in  res])ect 
of  Jack  might  not  have  abated  much;  but  she  certainly 
wouldn't  have  thought  her  father  so  bad  a  man  after  all  for 
having  compared  Charley  Ford  to  Jesse  James. 

As  it  was,  the  dainty  little  Miss  Gracie  Rathbone  con- 
trived to  bear  herself  with  a  semblance  of  cheerfulness, 
until  Mr.  Rathbone,  i'ising  from  his  seat  and  taking  up  his 
evening  paper,  invited  her  to  accompany  him  into  the  library 
and  sit  with  him  there  for  a  time  as  was  her  and  her  mothers 
wont  when  tluy  were  alone,  and  peace  and  harmony  pre- 
vailed t^.iroughout  the  presently  distracted  household. 

Mr.  Rathbone  was  not  a  smoker. 

He  had  been  far  too  dapper  and  circumspect  (some  might 
say  too  sensible)  in  his  youth  and  early  manhood  to  con- 
tract the  habit,  and  now,  of  course,  he  was  too  old  to  acquire 
a  knowledge  of  the  consolation  to  be  gotten  out  of  a  judicious 
use  of  tobacco. 

Had  he  smoked,  it  would  doubtless  have  exercised 
a  benignant  and  otherwise  improving  efl'ect  upon  his  temper 
and  home  conduct. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


169 


Are  not  all  uncertain-tempered  and  irritable  men  improved 
by  a  moderate  use  of  a  good  sample  of  the  aromatic  weed  ? 

Do  not  the  puffs  pulled  forth  from  a  pipe  of  good  tabacco 
or  from  a  fragrant  cigar  act  upon  the  superabundant  bile  of 
one  of  these,  as  do  the  pufl  exhausts  from  a  surcharged 
engine  boiler? 

However  that  may  be  Mr.  Eathbone  did  not  object  to  the 
smell  of  smoke. 

In  fact,  he  really  liked  the  aroma  of  a  good  Ilavana  cigar 
and  always  kept  a  supply  on  hand  for  visiting  friends. 

After  having  occupied  himself  with  his  paper  for  half  an 
hour  after  he  had  seated  himself  before  the  crackling  wood 
fire  in  the  so-called  library,  he  turned  to  the  demurely  silent 
Gracie,  as  she  mechanically  turned  over  the  leaves  of  a 
pictorial  magazine  at  the  other  side  of  the  centre  table  and 
said,  "  I  wish  my  dear,  that  you'd  go  out  and  tell  the  house- 
maid to  fetch  the  little  brass  kettle  filled  with  hot  water  in 
here  and  set  it  besi'^d  the  fire  place.  I  think  I  should  like 
a  glass  of  grog  presently,  and  Mr.  Chase  may  come  in  for  a 
game  of  cribbage  and  he'd  want  one  too." 

"  Yes,  papa, "  responded  the  sylphide  slowly  and  languidly 
rising  from  her  chair  anc',  going  over  to  him,  held  up  her 
cheek  to  be  kissed,  "and  I  think  I'll  say  good-night  before 
I  go  papa.  Fm  not  feeling  quite  right  and  I  think  I'll  go 
to  bed.  " 

A  diplomatic  young  person  was  this  youngest  d  'rxghterof 
Mr.  Robert  Rathbone. 

She  purposely  avoided  all  reference  to  her  mother's  non- 
appearance lest  it  might  lead  to  the  subject  of  Jack's  con- 


170 


LORDEll  CANUCKS. 


tinued  absence  from  the  parental  roof  and  thereby  revive 
the  smouldering  embers  of  paternal  wrath. 

"Very  well,  my  dear,"  replied  her  father,  "you  had 
perhaps  better  go  up  and  see  how  your  mother  is  getting  on, 
too. " 

Manifestly  the  tyrant  of  the  Kathbone  household  was 
relenting  of  his  ante-prandial  treatment  of  his  patient  wife 
and  affectionate  little  daughter. 

Not  so,  however,  with  regard  to  his  complete  loss  of 
patience  with  that  growing  red  rag  of  his  existence,  his  only 
son  and  heir. 

Annette,  the  pretty  Frencli  Canadian  housemaid,  having 
brought  in  the  hot  water,  he  himself  went  to  the  sideboard, 
and  securing  the  other  ingreilients  made  himself  a  hot 
Scotch  toddy.  Over  this  and  a  succeeding,  rather  stronger 
one,  in  undisturbed  solitude  he  thought  out  the  problems: 
"  What  is  to  be  done  with  that  boy  ?  How  is  his  presence 
in  the  house  decently  to  be  gotten  rid  of?" 

No  matter  what  it  cost,  ere  another  week  passed  some- 
thing definite  rfust  be  decided  upon  in  answer  to  these 
embarrassing  queries. 

His  friend  and  neighbor,  Mr.  Chase,  did  not  c;)me  in  for 
the  game  of  cribbage  and  cigar  after  all,  and  he  tried  to 
concentrate  his  thoughts  upon  along  article  in  one  of  the 
daily  papers  (  an  extract  from  a  labor  journal  )  upon  the 
iniquity  of  commercial  trusts  ;  but  he  soon  tired  of  this 
and  gradually  nodded  oS.  into  a  sound  sleep  in  peaceful 
oblivion  of  domestic  broils  and  embarrassing  sons. 

Waking  up  in  due  course  he  found  the  fire  nearly  gone 
Qut  and  the  hands  of  the  clock  on  the  mantel  piece  showing 


i^t 


BOKDEK   CANUCKS. 


171 


the  evening  far  enough  spent  to  warrant  liis  going  to  bed, 
which  he  was  very  glad  of. 

He  wondered  whether  that  boy  John  liad  come  in  yet  or 
not? 

He  would  look  into  the  servants'  sitting  room  and  ask 
Annette. 

Pulling  himself  together  he  accordingly  went.  "lias 
Master  John  come  in  yet?  "  he  asked,  as  he  opened  the  door, 
to  find  Annette  and  another  of  the  female  servants  busy 
sewing  at  a  brightly  lighted  table. 

"No,  monsieur,  he  have  not  arrive  home  yet,"  responded 
the  girl  politely,  in  her  pretty,  French  accent. 

"Then,  before  you  go  to  b'xl,  Annette,"  he  replied,  "if 
he  still  >^i.ould  not  have  come  in,  \^lease  see  that  all  the 
doors  and  windows  are  properly  fas*^ened,  as  usual.  The 
house  shall  not  be  left  open  all  night  to  suit  anybody's  con- 
venience ! " 

"No,  monsieur,  dat  ees  parfactly  correc,"  assented 
Annette,  with  a  serious  bow  of  her  head. 

"If  Master  John  should  C(jnie  and  want  to  get  in  an}"- 
time  after  we  have  all  gone  to  bed,  I  shall  get  up  myself 
and  let  him  in." 

"  Verrah  well,  sair, "  replied  the  urbane  Annette, 
demurely  nodding  her  head — never  intending  ta  comply 
with  the  enjoinder,  however. 

She  was  far  too  loyal  to  her  mistress  and  liked  Jack  too 
well  to  think  of  doing  so. 

The  master  of  the  house  now  ascended  to  the  joint  parental 
bed  room,  deserted  of  its  mistress  (who  was  quartered  for 
the  night  with  Gracie,  across  the  hall)  and,  after  dismally 


172 


BOKDEK   CANUCKS. 


undressing,  rolled  himself  in  the  luxurious  coverings  of  the 
capacious  bed,  and  courted  nature's  sweet  restorer  in  single 
dissatisfaction. 

His  last  thoughts  before  he  fell  asleep  were  a  sort  of 
gloating  over  the  probability  of  his  being  called  up  some- 
time during  th'^,  night — the  later  the  better — to  let  his 
offending  son  in. 

This  would  furnish  tangible  fuel  for  his  wrath,  and 
further  justify  the  peremptory  course  he  had  partially  made 
up  his  mind  to  adopt  within  the  next  week  or  so. 

When  at  last  he  did  drop  off  to  sleep  he  dreamed  that 
Jack  had  grown  suddenly  to  middle-aged  manhood,  and  as 
the  son  of  Gustavus  Ford  was  about  to  marry  his  mother 
and  take  her  off  on  a  European  trip,  leaving  him  alone 
with  Gracie,  who  went  about  with  her  face  all  smeared  with 
blood. 

Thus  in  grimly  fantastic  and  indefinable  shadows  did 
the  head  of  the  house  of  Rathbone  &  Ritter,  slumberously 
live  the  troubles  of  the  evening  over  again. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


A  Sylph-like  Albeit  Artful  Nurse. 

XT;rHEN  MR.  RATHBONE  had  called  out  in  con- 

'  *  ciliating  tones  to  his  wife  over  the  open  transom  of 
her  bedroom  that  dinner  was  ready  and  then  had  gone  down 
stairs  to  the  dining  room,  the  latter  had  gone  across  the  hall 
to  Grade's  luxuriant  little  sleeping  apartment,  where  she 
found  that  incipient  young  woman  prone  upon  ber  bed 
struggling  with  a  series  of  gradually  subsiding  sobs  of 
injured  feelings. 

Gently  going  over  to  her,  the  little  mother  sat  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  bed  and  endeavored  to  pacify  her  youngest 
born.  "There  now  Gracie  dear,'*  she  said  soothingly, 
"don't  cry  any  more,  there's  a  good  girl!  Your  father 
didn't  mean  so  to  ofiend  you.     I'm  sure  he  didn't  dear !" 

"  Yes  he  did  too  1"  insisted  the  pet  of  the  house  with  her 
handkerchief  over  her  eyes. 

"  Oh  no,  I  know  he  didn't,  dear.  " 

"Yes,  he  did,"  persisted  the  sylph,  with  a  long-drawn 
shuddering  sob,  "  I  never  saw  him  look  so  mad  before.  " 

"But  he  wasn't  mad  with  you,  de;ir.  He  was  as  usual 
annoyed  with  your  brother  Jack,  and  now  unfortunately 
that  means  me,  too  "  she  added  with  a  deep-drawn  sigh. 

"I  think  he's  a  very  unreasonable  aud  a  very  wicked 
man ! " 

"  Well,  he's  sorry  for  it  now,  dear.     Didn't  you  hear 

(173) 


174 


BOHDEli  CANUCKS. 


him  calling  us  to  dinner  before  he  went  down  stairs  a 
moment  ago  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  heard  him,"  sobbed  Grace,  *'  but  I'm  not  going ! " 

**  Not  for  my  sake,  dear?  "  and  bending  over,  she  kissed 
the  pet  of  the  house.  "I'm  sure  you'll  go  down  for  my 
sake,  won't  you,  dear?  One  of  us  ought  to  go  down,  ami 
your  poor  mother  is  really  ill — yes,  dear,  really  ill,  with 
such  a  sick  headache,"  and  the  little  woman  laid  lier 
blanched  cheek  down  upon  the  pillow  along-side  her 
daughter's  reclining  head. 

Rousing  herself  up  to  a  sitting  posture  and  gazing  at  her 
pain-stricken  face  for  an  instant,  Gracie  gently  stroked  the 
little  mother's  throbbing  forehead  and  kissed  her  cheek  in 
gushing  sympathy.  , 

"  I  do  hope  you're  not  going  to  have  one  of  those  dread- 
ful sick  headaches  of  your's.  Can't  1  do  anything  to  relieve 
you,  mamma  dear?  " 

"You  can  saturate  a  handkerchief  with  that  alcohol 
mixture  and  put  it  on  my  forehead,  if  you  will,  dear,"  lan- 
guidly suggested  the  mother. 

"  Yes,  of  course  I  will,  mamma,"  and  she  sprang  from  off 
the  bed,  utterly  forgetful  of  her  own  injured  feelings. 
"  Where  is  the  alcohol  bottle  mamma  ?  " 

"  I  think  it's  in  the  bathroom.  "  And  straightway  the  bottle 
•was  brought,  the  handkerchief  saturated,  and  the  old 
fashioned  woman's  remedy  for  sick  headache  placed  in 
position.  "  Now  dear,  I'll  be  all  right  in  a  short  time,  "  said 
the  mater  in  a  subdued  voice,  as  Gracie  covered  her  with  a 
thickly  wadded  bed  spread,  "  I  hope  her  mother's  own  little 


BOUDEll  CANUCKS. 


175 


girl  will  go  down  and  join  her  father  at  dinner,  won't  you 
dear?  kiss  me,  there's  a  good  girl  I" 

"  Of  course  I'll  go  down,  mamma  dear,  since  you're  so 
anxious  that  I  sliould;  but  I'm  not  a  bit  hungry,  and  I'd 
rather  be  whipped  than  go,"  she  said,  as  she  kissed  the  lit- 
tle woman. 

"  I  know,  dear;  I  dare  say  you  dislike  going  down  very 
much,  but  you'll  feel  all  the  better  for  having  done  your 
du.y." 

And  thus,  after  washing  her  face  and  hands,  the  pet  of 
the  household  was  instigated,  with  faltering,  hesitating  step, 
to  take  her  way  down  the  broad  staircase  to  join  her  father 
at  dinner,  as  recorded  in  the  last  cha})ter. 

Albeit  this  dainty  little  youngest  daughter  of  Robert  and 
Emily  Rathbone  had  yet  to  see  her  fifteenth  birthday,  she 
had  even  now  become  a  typical  child-woman  of  the  period, 
and  like  an  affectionate,  generous-hearted  woman,  capable 
of  the  most  self-sacrificing  acts  in  the  interest  of  any  one 
she  really  loved. 

When,  after  the  trying  ordeal  of  that  distasteful  dinner, 
she  bade  her  father  good  night  in  the  library,  she  returned  to 
her  own  room  to  find  her  mother  lying  upon  the  bed  where 
she  had  left  her, 

"  Are  you  awake,  mamma  dear  ?  "  she  enquired,  gently 
going  to  the  bedside  on  tip-toe. 

"Yes,  dear,"  whispered  the  little  woman,  sleepily. 

"  It's  all  over ! "  with  a  sigh  ;  "  I  have  said  good- night  to 
papa." 

"What's  all  over,  my  dear?"  demanded  the  mother, 
starting  up  out  of  a  half  doze. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


I 


1.0 


I.I 


M 
M 
|M 
1.8 


1.25 

1.4      1.6 

■a 6"     

► 

V, 


fW   ^^ 


<P1 


'/ 


^, 


<sSfe, 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


4w 


4n^ 


\\ 


4"^ 


a 


V" 


o^ 


^<' 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


176 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"Why,  the  dinner,  of  course,"  smilingly  responded  Gracie. 

"  Has  Jack  come  in  yet,  dear  ?  " 

"  No,  mamma,  he  hasn't  come  back  yet." 

"  Oh,  my  God  I  what  is  to  become  of  us  ?  "  sighed  the 
little  mother.. 

"  Why,  you  mustn't  talk  like  that,  mamma  I  Jack's  all 
right." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  he  is  all  right,  dear?  " 

"  Because  I  know  where  he  is — at  least  I  know  where 
he  started  to  go  to." 

"  And  where  did  he  start  to  ?  "  asked  the  little  woman, 
anxiously  gazing  into  the  eyes  of  her  daughter. 

"  Why,  he  and  Charley  Ford  went  to  a  race  at  Belle 


j» 


nver 

"Well,  my  dear,  why  couldn't  you  have  told  me  that 
before?  And  I  shouldn't  have  worried  to  the  extent  I  have 
about  him." 

"  Well,  mamma,  I  thought  that  they'd  surely  be  back  by 
this  time.  And  although  they  did  not  tell  me  not  to  tell 
anybody  where  they  had  gone,  I  thought  it  best  to  keep 
it  a  secret,  because  they  might  think  it  mean  of  me  to  tell 
anybody  without  their  authority,  you  know." 

"They  are  both  very  bad  boys  to  have  stolen  away  in 
the  manner  they  did ! "  vehemently  asserted  the  mater, 
rousing  up  from  her  recumbent  posture  on  the  bed.  "  And 
I'll  give  Charley  Ford  a  piece  of  my  mind,  about  his  lead- 
ing Jack  off  to  horse  races,  the  first  time  I  see  him  1 " 

"Oh,  but  mamma!"  remdnstrated  the  sylph.  "I  don't 
think  Charley  Ford  led  Jack  to  the  race.  In  fact,  I  know 
that  if  Jack  hadn't  told  him  about  it  Charley  never  would 


iw>ri 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


177 


later, 

And 

llead- 

lon't 
:now 
l^ould 


have  known  that  there  was  to  be  a  race  at  Belle  River 
to-day." 

"  Well,  but  Charley  Ford  is  older  than  Jack,  and  he 
ought  to  know  better,"  sharply  observed  the  mother. 

i'He  is  only  fifteen  months  older  than  Jack,  mamma, " 
weakly  observed  the  sylph  as  she  proceeded  to  take  the 
ribbon  out  of  her  long  plait  of  braided  brown  hair. 

It  was  quite  evident  that  Mrs.  Rathbone  had  made  up 
her  mind  to  share  her  little  daughter's  bed  for  the  night. 
While  Gracie  was  gone  down  to  dinner  the  little  woman  had 
aroused  herself  sufficiently  to  go  across  the  liall  to  her  own 
apartment,  procure  her  night  gown,  and  robe  herself  for  the 
night;  so  that  shortly  after  the  sylphide's  return  to  her 
room  after  dinner,  mother  and  daughter  found  themselves  at 
least  physically  comfortably  bestowed  along-side  each  other 
in  Gracie's  luxurious  bed  for  the  night. 

It  was  not  absolutely  iine  mat  blanche  for  either  mother 
or  daughter.  Now  that  the  former  was  assured  of  the 
whereabouts  of  her  son  she  had  found  some  consolation  in 
knowing  that  he  had  not  fallen  a  victim  to  the  many  snares 
and  pitfalls  extant  witliin  the  city  limits.  It  was  her 
exaggerated  idea  of  the  blanishments  of  these  that  to  a  large 
extent  reconciled  her  to  Jack's  frequent  expeditions  over 
into  the  French  settlements  across  the  river. 

Of  that  nationality  herself,  she  knew  that  as  compared 
with  the  methods  of  others,  tlio  amu.sements  of  her  own 
primitive  habitant  people  were  measurably  free  from  guile. 

It  was  therefore  in  some  sense  with  a  feeling  of  relief 
that  she  received  Gracie's  assurance  that  Jack  had  gone 
over  into  Canada — notwithstanding  that  his  object  in  going 


178 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


thither  was  to  witness  a  horse  race  on  the  ice.  Yet  in  view 
of  her  husband's  outrageous  exhibition  of  temper  because  of 
Jack's  absence  from  the  house  at  that  hour  without  leave, 
she  looked  forward  with  dread  to  the  scene  which  would 
surely  attend  his  return  either  that  night  or  on  the  morrow, 
and  it  was  well  on  towards  morning  ere  her  nervously 
anxious  consciousness  drifted  awaj'^  into  peaceful  rein- 
vigorating  sleep. 

Meanwhile  the  young  person  who  laid  along-side  her 
mother,  after  frequent  attemj)ts  to  engage  her  troubled 
parent  in  desultory  conversation  of  a  designedly  cheering 
kind  with  indifferent  success,  lapsed  off  into  a  cor. 'emplation 
of  her  own  inneimost  mental  promptings. 

She  had  great  confidence  in  her  patient  little  mother's 
ability  to  manipulate  Jack  out  of  any  serious  consequences 
of  his  escapade,  and  she  therefore  fell  to  elaborating  a 
little  scheme  especially  designed  for  her  own  individual 
delectation. 

It  must  somewhat  regretfully  be  admitted  that  this  little 
scheme  upon  her  awakening  on  this  Sabbath  morn  was  not 
without  its  impelling  influence  upon  her  religious  designs 
for  the  day. 

"  Mamma,"  she  said  on  getting  up  and  peeping  througli 
the  side  of  the  window  blind  at  the  weather  outside,  "  do 
you  think  you  feel  well  enough  to  go  to  church  this 
morning  ?  " 

"  Not  just  now,  dear,"  faintly  replied  the  mater,  not  yet 
out  of  bed ;  "  but  perhaps  after  I  have  had  a  cup  of  tea  I 
may  feel  better."  ^  . 


m\\ 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


179 


"  Would  you  like  one  now,  mamma  ?  "  ^  ^  the  eager 
enquiry. 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  should,  dear.  Call  out  from  the  head  of 
the  back  stairway  to  Annette  and  ask  her  to  make  me  a 
strong  cup  of  tea.  I  feel  as  though  I  wanted  something  to 
strengthen  me  before  I  attempt  to  get  up." 

"Call  out  to  Annette  I"  exclaimed  the  pet  of  the  house, 
with  assumed  disgust ;  "I'd  be  a  pretty  one  to  call  out  to 
Annette  to  fetch  you  up  a  cup  of  tea  when  you're  not  feel- 
ing well,  wouldn't  I,  now  ?  I,  myself,  who  can  make  tea 
with  any  man,  woman  or  expert  cook  in  the  city  or  sur- 
rounding country!  Why,  mamma,"  she  went  on,  as  she 
hurried  on  her  stockings  and  slippers,  "  what  do  you  think 
is  going  to  become  of  your  precious,  youngest,  female 
daughter  when  she  grows  old  and  toothless  and  still  in  the 
'jints',  as  Michael  calls  them,  if,  when  she's  young  and 
with  suppleness  endowed,  she'd  let  any  other  person  in  the 
crowd  (  which  it  is  poetry  )  get  the  dearest  little  mother  in 
the  world  a  cup  of  tea  when  that  dearest  little  mother  is  not 
feeling  as  well  and  happy  as  she  deserves  to  feel  every 
second  of  every  minute  of  every  hour  of  every  day  of  every 
week  of  every  month  of  every  year  of  every  decade  of  her 
dear,  precious,  sweet,  useful,  invaluable  life?  Why,  what 
am  I  here  for,  I'd  like  to  know?  Am  I  ever  to  confine 
myself  to  the  purely  ornamental  in  this  transitory  sphere? 
Am  I " 

"  Oh,  Gracie,  Gracie,  you  silly  child ! "  interrupted  the 
mother,  laughing,  "  do  stop  that  nonsense  I  " 

"  Yes,  mamma  dear,  of  a  truth  I  think  there's  quite  suf- 
ficient nonsense  in  my  having  forgotten  where  I  put  that 


i 


180 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


wrapper  when  I  took  it  off  yesterday  morning.  Ah,  liere 
it  is  I  Here  is  the  variegated  garment  of  ample  fold !  Thus 
arrayed  in  matutinal  attire,"  she  continued  with  serious 
face,  elaborate  bow  and  much  affected  importance,  as  she 
left  the  room,  '*  I  shall  proceed  to  the  culinary  department 
of  this  mansion  in  quest  of  that  aromatic  herb  known  to 
commerce,  society  and  the  gastronomic  world  as  /ea/" 

Not  a  word  had  been  said  of  Jack.  In  view  of  last 
night's  experience  that  young  gentleman's  continued  absence 
had  become  a  subject  too  awful  for  discussion  with  the 
anxious  little  mother.  As  for  Grace,  she  had  felt  quite 
certain  before  she  went  to  sleep  last  night  that  her  brother 
would,  in  all  likelihood,  not  return  until  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

She  thought  it  quite  likely  that  he  would  have  been 
detained  by  the  race  until  near  dark,  and  an  eighteen  mile 
drive  on  a  dark  night  over  indifferent  sleighing  was  a  seri- 
ous undertaking.  She,  therefore,  hoped  that  Jack  and  his 
companion  had  remained  over  at  Belle  River  for  the  night, 
and  the  wish  became  father  to  the  thought. 

If  she  were  correct  in  coming  to  this  conclusion,  then 
they  would  be  likely  to  come  over  from  the  Canadian  side 
on  the  ten  o'clock  ferry. 

"  Mamma  dear,"  she  said,  demonstratively  sniffing  at  the 
fumes  arising  from  the  hot  tea,  as  she  handed  the  cup  to  her 
mother,  "if  this  should  make  you  feel  very,  very  much  bet- 
ter, and  I  am  sure  it  will,  for  the  aroma  arising  from  it  is  of 
itself  e-normously  revivifying — excuse  my  large  language, 
please — don't  you  think  that  in  that  case  you  might  be 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


181 


induced  to  do  what  Mis.  Dombcy  didn't — make  an  effort 
to  get  up  shortly  and  take  me  to  ear  v  muss?" 

''  Why  do  you  want  to  go  to  early  mass  my  dear?" 
'•  Well  one  reason  is  that  it's  such  a  lovely  morning.  " 
''  But  you  know  there's  no  sermon  preached  at  the  early 
service,  "  remonstrated  the  mother. 

"  Troth  thin,  ma'm,''  replied  the  sylph  in  Irish  dialect,  "  if 
we're  to  have  foire  and  brimstone  flujig  at  ns  in  bowld  Irish 
brogue  to  the  extint  we  had  by  that  rivcrend  Irish  gintle- 
man  last  Sunday,  I  think  we're  well  out  of  it,  ma'm,  an  so  I 
do,  ma'm  !  Sure,  ma'm,  is  the  tay  all  right  and  to  your  loiking, 
ma  m  : 

"Yes  dear,  it's  just  right,"  replied  the  little  woman, 
laughing. 

*'  As  good  as  Annette  could  have  made  it  ?" 
"  Yes  indeed,  as  good  as  anyone  could  have  made  it  " 
"  There's  the  dearest  and  most  grateful  little  mother  in 
the  world  for  saying  so,  "  and  the  gushing  pet  put  her  armb 
around  her  mother's  neck  and  kissed  her  voluminously. 

Straightening  herself  up  she  resumed,  "And  you're  sure 
it's  quite  satisfactory  to  your  palate  and  quite  strong  enough, 
is  it  mamma?" 

"Yes,  quite  satisfactory  in  every  way." 
"Then,  "  said  the  sylj)h  dramatically,  addressing  the  ceil* 
ing  with  cla.«ped  hands,  "  blessed  be  the  Grand  Mogul,  the 
Grand  Mandarin  or  other  supromel 3' elevated  Chinese  poten- 
tate who  first  discovered  teal  Yes,  tea!  that  beverage 
which  cheers  but  not  inebriates — alike  indispensable  to  the 
palaces  of  the  rich  and  consoling  to  the  cabins  of  the  poor! 
Bless  thee!  bless  thee,  oh  tea!     Thou  art  about  to' restore 


182 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


to  the  arms  of  a  doting  and  somewhat  demented  daughter, 
the  fondest,  the  fairest,  the  most  amiable,  the  most  indul- 
gent, the  most  affec — " 

•'Oh,  Gracie,  my  child,"  laughed  the  mother,  "do  stop 
that  nonsense.  What  on  earth  has  come  over  you  this 
morning?  I'm  sure  things  are  not  so  very  bright  with  us 
just  now." 

"Hem — ha — what  did  you  say,  darling  mamma?  Tell 
Michael  to  have  the  horses  and  sleigh  ready  to  take  us  to 
church  in  half  an  hour' — is  that  what  you  said,  darling 
mamma?"  and  putting  her  hand  to  her  ear,  in  imitation  of 
an  old  female  benejiciare  of  the  family,  she  continued, 
"Excuse  me,  misses,  I'se  a  leetle  hard  o'heerin;  but  if 
that's  what  you  ses,  ma'm,  I'll  be  right  peert  about  givin' 
the  order.'* 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  little  woman,  laughingly,  "you 
can  go  and  tell  Michael  to  get  the  horses  and  sleigh  ready 
in  half  an  hour,"  and  as  the  diplomatic  pet  forthwith  took 
her  departure  to  give  Michael,  the  coachman,  the  desired 
instructions,  Mrs.  Rathbone  got  out  of  bed. 

Why  Gracie  was  so  bent  upon  going  to  early  mass  was 
because  she  knew  that  there  she  would  meet  her  friend  and 
quasi-conjidante,  Emily  Ritter,  whom  she  particularly  wanted 
to  see. 

Why  she  wanted  to  see  and  confer  with  Miss  Emily 
Ritter  will  be  made  apparent  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


CHAPTER  X. 


An  IdealUtic  Stray  Sfieep. 

"TT  was  close  upon  nine  o'clock  with  the  bright  unclouded 
-^  sun's  rays  pouring  in  through  the  open  topmost  halves 
of  the  two  Venetian  blintls,  which  shielded  the  windows  of  the 
family  bedroom  looking  eastward,  ere  Mr.  Kathbone 
aroused  himself  to  a  thoroughly  awakened  condition  on  the 
morning  after  the  events  last  recorded  of  him. 

It  had  become  his  habit  of  late  years  to  lie  abed  at  least 
two  hours  later  on  Sunday  morning  than  was  his  wonted 
hour  for  rising  on  week  days. 

He  had  fallen  into  the  lazy  habit  of  looking  over  the 
Sunday  morning's  voluminous  loc:\l  papers,  now  become 
so  conspicuous  a  feature  in  Detroit's  journalistic  enterprise, 
before  he  got  up  to  leisurely  dress  and  breakfast. 

His  wife  usually  brought  him  the  papers  and  a  cup  of 
coffee  and  a  bit  of  buttered  toast  before  he  got  out  of  bed 
on  the  morning  of  the  first  day  of  the  week. 

But  she  had  not  done  so  this  morning. 

He  supposed  that  she  was  too  greviously  annoyed  with 
him  for  what  he  had  said  to  her  last  night  to  do  so.  W^ll, 
he  would  try  and  make  amends  to  her  for  what  he  had 
said — but  he  was  determined  upon  one  thing,  he  would  not 
tolerate  that  boy  John's  presence  in  the  house  one  day 
longer  than  he  could  decently  help.  John  it  was  who  had 
caused  all  the  unpleasantness  in  the  household  since  Emily's 

(183) 


-•^ 


181 


BOUIJEU  CANUCKS. 


marriage  more  than  a  year  ago,  and  John,  therefore,  must 
be  got  rid  of. 

However,  it  was  time  to  get  up  now. 

The  bells  of  certain  of  the  churches  throuffhout  the  citv 
were  clanging  forth  the  first  installments  of  their  invitations 
to  their  followers — to  the  unregenerate  sinner  alike,  widi 
their  pious  front  pew  pillars — to  the  wolves  and  the  lambs 
— the  goats  and  the  sheep  of  their  resjieetive  folds — all  were 
being  called  to  worsliij)  at  the  sacred  shrine  of  Ilim  who 
died  for  sinners. 

Of  late  years  the  head  of  the  prosperous  firm  of  Rathbone 
&  Hitter  had  greatly  fallen  away  from  the  tenets  and  active 
observance  of  the  faith  of  his  fathers  for  so  many  genera- 
tions })ast,  and  now  his  luxuriously  upholstered  front  pew 
in  St  Pancras'  knew  him  but  seldom. 

In  his  early  struggles  to  commercial  success  in  the  city — 
when  he  was  laying  the  foundation  of  his  present  generous 
fortune — lie  had  found  great  satisfaction,  not  to  say  encour- 
agement, in  a  regular  attendance  at  his  church  and  an  active 
participation  in  all  moves  looking  to  the  advancement  and 
good  of  his  communitj-. 

"When  Jack  was  a  little  boy  in  small  clothes  he  had  felt  a 
paternal  pride  and  an  unspeakable  sense  of  well  doing 
when,  leading  his  handsome,  dapper  little  son  by  the  hand,  he 
walked  up  the  main  aisle  of  his  church,  and  in  the  sight  of 
his  fellow-worshipers,  took  his  seat  in  his  pew  each  Sunday 
morning  with  unfailing  regularity. 

But  during  these  latter  prosperous  years  he  had  become 
impregnated  with  idealism  and,  like  the  sage  of  Chelsea, 
had  imbibed  a  predisposition  to  sco£E  and  inwardly  sneer  at 


■■■ 


BOKDEU  CANUCKS. 


185 


all  conventional  signs  and  visible  outward  exhibitions  of  a 
j)urely,  presumedly,  inward  spiritual  grace.  He  now  looked 
upon  the  large  majority  of  ostentatious  religious  observ- 
ances as  a  means — and  a  moat  efficacious  means — to  a 
materialistic  end,  to-wit,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  and  the 
consequent  respect  of  one's  fellow  citizens. 

Any  set  of  religious  tenets,  faith  or  theor;, ,  not  absolutely 
repugnant  to  one's  reasoning  faculties  ( albeit  the  same 
might  be  founded  upon  superstition  pure  and  simple), 
might  be  advantageously  utilized  in  the  interest  of  one's 
material  advancement  during  this  pending,  fleeting  show. 
But  when  this  was  the  case  the  higher  transcendental  aims 
of  a  divine  faith  must  be  set  aside  or  be  made  subordinate 
thereto. 

lie  had  always  felt  a  vague  sense  of  the  existence  of  two 
separate  and  distinct  departments  in  the  orthodox  faith  in 
which  he  had  been  reared,  which  held  the  same  rela- 
tive attitudes  as  to  each  other  that  the  humam  soul  holds  to 
the  human  body.  The  one  was  the  ideal  or  sentimental 
head,  while  the  other  was  the  materialistic  outward  sign  of 
a  not  necessarily  existent  inward  spiritual  grace.  To  serve 
one  without  slighting  the  other,  or  to  serve  each  equally 
well  at  one  and  the  same  time  was  as  much  out  of  the  ques- 
tion as  is  the  proverbial  impossibility  of  serving  two 
masters. 

These  kinds  of  reasonings  and  contemplations  had 
brought  about  in  Mr.  Rathbone,  if  not  a  total  recantation, 
at  least  a  sad  fallmg  off  from  his  early  religious  precepts. 

Of  late  years  this  change  had  become  so  marked  that  for 


186 


BORDEIl  CANUCKS. 


montlus  nt  a  stretch  liis  pew  in  St  Pancras'  virtually 
knew  liim  not. 

At  first  his  wife,  notwithstanding  the  difTercncc  of  licr 
fnith,  was  wont  to  remonstrate  with  him  because  of  this 
falling  ofT  and  especially  because  of  the  bud  example  it 
afforded  their  son  John. 

This,  for  a  time  at  theoutsetof  his  decline,  had  frequently 
instigated  him  to  attend  divine  service  when  he  would 
have  far  rather  remained  at  home  and  read  his  Sunday 
papers. 

Later  on  it  grew  less  potent  in  its  influence,  and  now  that 
tne  turkey-gobbler  spirit  had  taken  such  apparently  com- 
plete possession  of  him  as  to  his  son  and  heir,  he  had  for  a 
long  time  ignored  church  attendance  altogether. 

Jack  was  old  enough  and  ought  to  know  enough  to  go 
to  church  without  an  escort,  and  he  was  always  made  to  go 
if  he  ever  manifested  any  disposition  to  remain  away,  which, 
however,  had  been  very  rarely  the  case. 

This  morning,  however,  Mr.  Raihbone  bethought  him 
that  he  would  attend  divine  service  himself. 

It  might  have  the  effect  of  showing  his  wife  and  Oracle, 
without  his  being  obliged  to  tell  them  in  so  many  words 
that  he  was  as  penitent  as  he  could  be  about  anything  which 
involved  his  position  as  supreme  head  of  the  household, 
for  the  violence  he  had  exhibited  towards  them  last 
evening. 

And  besides  it  would  be  a  fitting  prelude  to  the  mandate 
he  was  about  to  promulgate  m  respect  of  his  son's  dis- 
position. 


noUDKIl  CANl'CKS. 


187 


IIo  supposed  of  course  that  Jolm  had  gotten  home  by 
this  time. 

How  lie  had  contrived  to  yet  in  without  his  having  hoard 
him  he  couhl  not  well  understand,  because  sleep  liad  only 
come  to  him  in  fits  and  starts  until  well  on  towards 
morning.  But  he  supposed  that  Grace  or  liis  mother,  as 
they  were  wont  to  ilo  when  the  boy  was  out  late,  had 
waited  and  .watched  and  surreptitiously  let  him  in  when  he 
had  returned. 

He  would  not  say  anything  to  him  this  morning-- atiy- 
thmg  in  anger  he  meant.  lie  would  be  very  dclibc-'le  and 
determined  in  what  he  was  about  to  do,  and  lio  would 
commence  by  (;\Mng  the  boy  to  church  with  him  this 
morning  To-morrow,  witnout  any  ceremony,  he  v,ouId  lay 
before  his  son  and  heir  the  plan  he  had  laid  out  for  him 
and  insist  upon  his  adopting  it  forthwith. 

With  this  resolved  upon  as  Iiis  plan  of  campaign,  he  got 
out  of  bed,  dressed  himself  and  went  down  stairs  to  the 
dining  room. 

There  he  found  his  wife  with  her  bonnet  and  furs  on 
alone  at  the  breakfast  table. 

"Good  morning  Emily,"  he  said,  with  a  conciliatory 
smile  as  he  approached  the  blazing  grate  fire  with  out- 
stretched palms. 

"Good  morning,"  responded  the  little  woman  with 
serious  countenance  as  she  alternately  sij)ped  and  gazed 
down  into  her  cup  of  coffee  without  looking  up  at  him. 

"  I  suppose  that  you're  just  going  to  church?"  he  remarked 
cheerfully. 


/ 


188 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"  Just  come  from  there, "  she  replied  frigidly,  "  we  went 
to  early  mass." 

"  Oh,  you  did,  ay  ?  and  where  is  Gracie  ?" 

"  I  left  her  to  walk  home  with  Emily  Ritter.  She  will  be 
hero  ahoitly,  "  she  added  after  a  short  pause,  during  which 
he  hesitatingly,  as  if  about  to  ask  another  question, 
approached  the  rear  door  leading  to  the  kitchen  and  servants' 
quarters.  • 

He  was  about  to  ask  at  what  time  Jack  had  returned,  but 
something  in  his  better  nature  instigated  him  to  forego  the 
question.  - 

Albeit  as  frigid  and  repelling  in  her  manner  as  his  wife 
was  to  him,  there  was  something  in  the  pallor  of  her  drawn 
face  and  general  appearance  which  betokened  much  suffer- 
ing, and  for  the  instant  a  pang  of  remorse  shot  through  him 
for  his  utterances  of  last  evening. 

He  would  go  out  and  ask  Michool,  the  coachman,  at  what 
time  that  scapegrace  of  a  boy  had  got  in  last  night  or  this 
morning,  and  he  left  the  room  without  saying  anything 
further. 

"  What  time  did  Master  John  get  in  last  night,  do  you 
know,  Michael?"  enquired  Mr.  Rathbone  as,  on  entering 
the  commodious  brick  stable  of  the  establishment,  he  found 
his  Irish  retainer  busy  rubbing  down  the  horses,  which  had 
conveyed  his  mistress  to  church  and  back  this  morning. 

"  Sorra  bit  of  me  knows  that,  sor,"'  replied  Michael,  con- 
tinuing his  currying  and  brushing. 

"  Isn't  his  pony  in  her  stall  ?  "  and  he  went  over  to  look. 
"  No,  she's  not  there,"  he  said  to  himself  rather  than  to  the 
groom. 


■T 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


189 


"Sure,  his  pony  wouldn't  be  loikely  to  come  home  wid- 
out  himself,  sor,  though  she  be  a  mighty  wise  pony,  that 


sanie,  sor. 


"  Where  do  you  think  he  went  to,  Michael  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Michael,  suspending  his  grooming  and  tak- 
ing oS.  his  cap  and  wiping  his  face  with  his  shirt  sleeve, 
"You  see  I'd  not  be  loikely  to  know  where  he  wint,  sor, 
unless  Masther  Jack  towld  me  himself  f  where  he  was  goin' 
before  he  wint  away." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Michael  was  very  well  aware  of 
where  Jack  had  gone,  but  being  a  warm  admirer  of  that 
young  gentleman,  he  certainly  was  not  going  to  admit  it. 

"  I  suppose  he  is  somewhere  over  in  Canada, "  observed 
Mr.  Rathbone,  as  he  turned  to  leave  the  stable. 

"  Maybe  so,  sor,  maybe  so — that's  very  true,  sor,"  assented 
Michael,  hissing  and  rubbing  away  demonstratively. 

"Gone  over  to  some  low-down,  French  horse  race,  I  sup- 
pose. I'll  see  whether  I  can't  put  a  stop  to  this  sort  of 
thing!"  added  the  turkey-gobbler  spirit,  as  he  proceeded 
on  his  way  across  the  yard  back  to  the  house  with  rising 
choler. 

"  Bedad,  thim  Frinch  is  great  for  racin',  sor,  and  no  mis- 
take," and  ceasing  his  carrying  and  hissing  for  an  instant 
to  glance  at  the  retreating  form  of  his  em  iloyer,  he  added, 
"  Tare  an  houns,  but  the  bass  is  great  at  guessin,'  and  no 
mistake,"  and  then  he  resumed  his  grooming  and  hissing 
with  renewed  vigor. 

As  Mr.  Rathbone  wended  his  way  back  to  the  dining 
room  he  ma}'  be  said  to  have  worked  himself  into  a  white 
heat  of  passion. 


190 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


But  upon  the  principle  that  extremes  meet,  these 
excessive  tempers  often  induce  a  quieter  and  more  delib  "ate 
style  of  utterance  than  do  the  red  faced  frothy  spells  wh.^h 
are  so  often  the  besetting  sin  of  mortals  otherwise  com- 
paratively unobjectionable. 

When  he  entered  the  room  where  he  found  his  wife  still 
seated  at  the  breakfast  table,  his  blue  eyes  flashed  forth  a 
venomous  gleam  of  wickedness,  pnd  the  flesh  upon  his 
prominent  cheek  bones  became  abnormally  white,  while  his 
side-whiskered  jaw  and  large  thin-lipped  mouth  were  set 
with  angry  determination. 

As  he  entered  and  stood  upon  the  hearth  rug  with  his 
back  to  the  glowing  fireplace,  Mrs.  Rathbone  arose  from  her 
seat  and  turning,  glanced  at  her  husband  with  a  look  of 
trembling  enquiry. 

*'  Emily, "  he  said  in  subdued  voice. 

*'  Yes  Robert,  "  she  responded  nervously. 

"  Of  course  you  are  aware  that  that  boy  has  not  got  back 
yet?" 

*'  Yes,  Robert, "  she  muttered  with  a  little  sob. 

"  Do.you  think  his  not  having  done  so  is  a  proper  obser- 
vance of  the  lenient  rules  and  mild  forms  of  discipline  I 
have  laid  down  for  his  guidance  while  he  remains  under 
this  roof?  Here  it  is  church  time,  and  yet  he  is  away 
gallivanting  about  the  country  with  some  of  his  blackguard 
boon  companions  I've  no  doubt,  "  and  then  he  resumed  the 
caged  animal  perambulation  of  the  floor  of  the  previous 
evening. 

She  would  have  remonstrated  with  the  last  part  of  this 
speech,  but  to  do  so  would  have  obliged  her  to  say  that 


ml 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


191 


Jack  had  set  out  with  Charley  Ford,  and  the  name  of  Ford, 
of  old  time  recollection  after  what  had  occurred  last  evening 
had  better  be  left  unspoken. 

Finding  that  she  received  his  question  in  silence,  he 
flared  up  in  louder,  irrepressibly  angry  tones,  "Yet  you 
say  that  I  am  unjustifiably  severe  with  him,  and  you  and 
the  girls  have  fallen  into  the  habit  of  petting  him  and  show- 
ing him  as  much  consideration  as  if  he  were  the  most  import- 
ant personage  in  the  world,  and  indispensable  to  the  welfare 
and  happiness  of  this  household  I  You  do  this,  I  presume, 
to  make  amends  for  my  alleged  severity  I  " 

The  truth  is  much  more  likely  of  utterance  in  a  passion 
than  it  proverbially  is  in  jest 

"For  well-nigh  two  years,  now,  I  have  had  but  little 
peace  or  satisfaction  at  home,  here," he  continued,  "because 
of  this  absurd  lionizing  of  the  graceless,  young  ruffian  !  " 

"  Eobert ! "  she  said,  with  a  flash  of  anger,  as  she  straight- 
ened her  petite  figure  up  to  its  full  height,  while  two  large 
tears  slowly  coursed  down  her  drawn  cheeks,  "  Robert, 
though  you  doubt  his  being  your  own  child,  he  does  not 
deserve  your  calling  him  a  graceless,  young  ruffian  1 " 

He  turned  in  his  walk  and  paused  for  an  instant  before 
he  said  in  a  measurably  apologetic  manner:  "Emily,  I  do 
not  doubt  his  being  my  own  child,  and  I  have  since 
regretted  what  I  said  last  night.  It  would  have  been  better 
unsaid.  " 

"  Oh  Robert, "  she  exclaimed,  as  if  stricken  to  the  heart, 
as  she  raised  her  hands  above  her  head  and  fell  limp  into  an 
arm  chair.  "  You  well-nigh  broke  my  heart  wlien  you  said 
that  you  doubted  my  honor  as  your  wife !"  and  putting  her 


192 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


face  in  her  hands  upon  her  lap  she  sobbed  as  if  her  heart 
would  really  break. 

Then  he  went  to  her,  and  raising  her  up  from  the  chair  in 
which  she  sat  in  such  abandonment  of  grief,  he  took  her  in 
his  arms  tenderly  and  patted  her  upon  her  seal  skin  covered 
shoulders  and  soothingly  begged  of  her  not  to  take  on  in 
that  manner. 

"It  makes  me  very  unhappy  to  see  you  in  this  condition, 
Emily, "  he  said  in  a  very  much  mollified  and  conciliatory 
voice.  "Come,  don't  cry,  there's  a  good  little  woman.  I 
was  very  much  annoyed  when  I  said  what  I  did  to  you  last 
night  and  I  hope  you'll  forget  it  and  put  it  away  from  your 
mind  altogether. " 

The  man  though  a  consummate  bully  within  the  precints 
of  his  own  family  circle,  and  a  victim  of  one  of  the  manifold 
and  mysterious  forms  that  all-absorbing  passion,  jealousy, 
sometimes  assumes,  was  none  the  less  on  occasion  capable  of 
generous  impulses. 

He  always  was  used  to  say  of  himself  that  he  could  never 
stand  a  woman's  tears.  This  fact  his  wife  and  daughters 
were  well  aware  of,  and,  the  girls  especially,  in  their  con- 
tentions with  him  had  often  assumed  the  demonstratively 
lachrymose  when  they  really  did  not  feel  to  that  extent 
effected  for  the  sake  of  carrying  their  point  with  him  which 
they  rarely  failed  to  do  when  this  method  was  judiciously 
practiced. 

There  was,  however,  no  assumption  of  an  outward  and 
visible  show  of  grief  that  did  not  exist  within  the  bosom  of 
his  wife  now. 

Last  night's  raking  up  of  the  skeleton  of  their  early  mar- 


and 
)m  of 

mar- 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


193 


ried  life  had  greatly  shaken  her,  and  the  perturbed  frame  of 
mind  which  Jack's  continued  absence  had  thrown  her  into 
had  not  failed  of  adding  fuel  to  the  flame  of  her  sorrows, 
and  abject  discomfiture. 

It  was,  therefore,  a  great  relief  to  her  pent-up,  harrowed 
feelings  when  the  assurance  fell  upon  her  ears  that  he  was 
sorry  for  what  he  had  said  last  evening,  and  that  he  doubted 
not  the  legitimacy  of  her  son,  and  a  genuine  overflow  of 
down-pouring  tears  was  the  natural  womanly  c  jnsequence. 

In  reply  to  her  husband's  saying  that  he  had  a  proposal 
to  make  with  reference  to  what  had  best  be  done  with  Jack, 
amidst  her  gradually  slackening  sobs,  she  said :  "  Oh, 
Robert,  I  earnestly  pray  that  something  may  be  done  that 
will  bring  greater  harmony  and  contentment  to  us  all." 

"  Well,  then,  this  is  what  I  propose  to  do  with  John, 
Emily,"  he  replied,  as  he  kissed  her  and  slowly  resumed 
his  pacing  of  the  floor  ;  "  You  know  that  I  have  not  been 
over-exacting  with  reference  to  my  religious  faith  in  the 
education  of  John  thus  far  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Robert,  you  have  been  very  good  and  liberal,  I'm 
sure,"  she  assented,  drying  her  eyes  with  a  dainty  lace 
handkerchief,  as  she  stood  upon  the  hearth  rug. 

"  It  was  out  of  consideration  for  what  I  presumed  to  be 
your  wishes  upon  the  subject  that  I  suggested,  as  a  sort  of 
compromise  between  us  from  a  religious  point  of  view,  old 
man  Hamilton's  employment  as  his  private  tutor  that  he 
might  complete  his  education  under  your  own  eye  at 
home." 

"Yes,  Robert,"  she  replied  feelingly,  with  a  shivering 

13 


'.■■%S 


ff 


194 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


sob,  "and  I  ha^e  always  felt  the  deepest  sense  of  appre- 
ciation of  your  consideration  for  me  in  having  done  so." 

"Unfortunately,"  he  continued,  "I  have  found  out  that 
in  doing  this  I  made  a  grave  mistake,  and  that  my  good 
intentions  to  you  in  the  premises  have  only  resulted  in 
bringing  about  a  state  of  things  which,  I  am  resolved,  shall 
no  longer  continue." 

She  might  have  said  much  in  explanation  of  how  this 
juncture  had  been  reached — how  that  the  lack  of  harmony, 
which  had  existed  for  these  last  past  months,  had  been 
largely  brought  about  by  his  own  unnatural  feelings  of 
jealousy  of  his  own  son — but  the  spirit  of  recrimination, 
never  strong  within  her,  had  left  her  altogether  now,  and 
she  said  nothing. 

*'>Jow  this  is  what  I  propose  shall  be  done  and  done  at 
once,  "  he  said  peremptorily.  "  John  must  be  packed  off  bag 
and  baggage  to  some  one  of  the  colleg^  in  the  country — 
Yale,  Fordhara  oi'  Havard.  I  don't  care  to  what  school  he 
goes — so  long  as  he  leaves  this  house  before  the  end  of  the 
weekl" 

The  vehemence  of  the  latter  part  of  this  speech  again 
brought  irrepressible  tears  to  this  doting  little  mother's  eyes 
as  she  quietly  acquiesced  by  saying:  "Well,  Robert,  I 
suppose  that  is  the  best  thing  that  can  be  done  under  the 
circumstances  and  I  shall  endeaver  to  have  him  ready  to 
start  whenever  you  say." 

"  I  don't  want  to  have  anything  more  to  say  upon  the 
subject, "  he  said  decisively,  "  when  or  how  he  shall  start,  so 
long  as  he  starts  before  the  end  of  this  week,  I  leave  to  you 
entirely.     I  am  too  much  out  of  patience  with  him  to  want 


^ 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


195 


this 


to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  him  until  he  has  mended 
his  ways.  As  to  what  particular  school  or  college  he  goes 
to,  that  I  shall  also  leave  entirely  to  you — or  perhaps,  "  he 
added  bitterly,  "on  second  thought,  you  had  better  let  the 
precious  young  scapegrace  choose  for  himself  what  institu- 
tion shall  have  the  distinguished  honor  of  developing  his 
brilliant  attainments." 

After  delivering  which  magnanmious  mandate  he  ceased 
his  pacing  of  the  floor  and  took  his  seat  at  the  head  of  the 
breakfast  table. 

"Very  well,  Robert,  "  patiently  assented  the  little  woman, 
"Just  as  you  say,"  and  taking  her  seat  at  the  table  opposite 
him  she  remarked:     "  Shall  I  pour  you  out  some  coffee  ?" 

"  Yes,  please.  I  think  I  shall  go  to  church  this  morn- 
ing. " 

"Going  to  church  are  you?"  she  exclaimed  with  irre- 
pressible surprise.  "  I'm  very  glad  you're  going  to  church, 
Robert." 

Thus  it  was  that  on  this  particular  Sabbath  morning  the 
congregation  of  St  Pancras'  Episcopal  Church  was  furnished 
a  cause  for  rejoicing  in  the  tentative  return  to  the  fold  of  a 
long  strayed  sheep. 


m 


10^1^; 


CHAPTER  XL 

Firat  Love'a  Conspiracy. 

/^  RACE  WAS  not  disappointed  in  respect  of  finding  her 
^^     friend  and  boon  companion  at  early  mass. 

There  sat  Miss  Emily  Ritter  in  the  adjoining  pew  in  all 
her  native  7ion  chalant  grace  of  inanimate-looking  flaxen 
hair,  and  premature  tendency  to  embonpoint  for  one  of 
scarce  sixteen  summers. 

Howbeit,  becomingly  dressed  in  a  close-fitting  surtout  of 
black  fur  with  cap  to  match,  she  was  not  altogether  ill  to 
look  upon  so  long  as  she  allowed  her  capacious  mouth  and 
substantial  lips  to  remain  in  repose,  which,  what  with  gum- 
chewing  and  voluble  conversational  powers,  was  a  matter 
of  rare  occurrence,  however. 

She  chewed  gum  continuously  throughout  the  short  ser- 
vice, while  the  expression  of  her  pale-blue  eyes  took  on  a 
sort  of  far-away  look,  as  if  ineffectually  attempting  to  dis- 
tinguish objects  at  a  distance  through  turbid  water. 

When  she  met  Grace  in  the  vestibule  of  the  church  after 
service,  she  chewed  out  her  surprise  that  she  and  Mrs. 
Rathbone  should  have  so  departed  from  their  usual  practice 
of  attending  half  past  ten  o'clock  high  mass. 

"Well,  now,  Grace  Rathbone!"  she  exclaimed,  as  that 
young  person  and  her  mother  emerged  from  the  sacred 
edifice,  "  who'd  have  ever  thought  of  seeing  you  at  early 

Pray,  whose  yoke  of  oxen  hauled  you 
(197) 


m 


mass  this  morning? 


19S 


BOKUKK  CANUCKS. 


out  of  bed  in  time  to  got  hero  at  eight  o'clock  ?  Whoever 
they  belong  to,  they're  prize  animals,  any  way,  because  my 
experience  of  you  is  that  you're  the  greatest  stay-abecl  in 
Michigan!  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Rathbone;  early  rising 
doesn't  seem  to  agree  with  you  either,  because  you're  look- 
ing unusually  pale.  Hope  you  haven't  been  sick?"  with 
which  tender,  albeit  brusque,  enquiry  this  flaxen-haired 
maiden  came  to  the  end  of  her  tether  as  to  breath,  as  it  were. 

"  Oh,  no,  Emily,"  replied  Mrs.  Rathbone,  smilingly,  "  I've 
not  been  ill ;  and  we're  not  such  slow  coaches  in  the  morn- 
ing as  you  seem  to  think  we  are,"  she  added,  reprovingly. 
"How  is  your  mother,  my  dear?  " 

"Oh,  as  well  as  could  be  expected,  thank  you,  Mrs.  Rath- 
bone. You  know,  for  a  long  time  past,  I  have  been  com- 
ing to  early  church  Sundays  so  as  to  let  ma  come  to  high. 


»» 


mass. 

"  That's  a  very  good  and  considerate  thing  to  do,  dear," 
assented  the  little  woman,  pleasantly. 

"Because,  you  know,  we  couldn't  both  be  away  from  the 
house  at  the  same  time,"  continued  Miss  Ritter.  "That 
confounded  rheumatic  gout  of  pa's  has  made  him  so  nervous 
and  crotchety,  that  one  of  us  must  be  within  call  every 
minute  of  the  day  and  night  If  he  didn't  have  one  of  us 
always  handy  by  to  order  around  and  nag  and  scold  at,  I 
believe  he'd  take  a  fit  and  go  off  in  a  blue  flame,  like 
Jacob  Faithful's  mother!  I  really  do  believe  he  would! 
Why,  Grace,  what's  the  matter  with  you  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Nothing's  the  matter  with  me,"  responded  the  sylph. 

"Does  early  rising  affect  your  tongue?  You're  as  silent 
as  a  wooden  Indian  and  look  as  glum  as  one  too." 


'  ] 


BOUUKU   CANUCKS. 


199 


"If  you'd  have  said  blind  Indian  you'd  have  been  nearer 
the  mark, "  observed  Grace  as  they  reached  tlio  outer 
threshold  where  Mrs.  Ratlibone  stopped  to  talk  with  one  of 
her  pensioners  among  the  indigent  of  the  congregation. 

**  Why  blind  Indian  pray?"  queried  MissRitter. 

"Because  you've  pretty  nearly  talked  me  l)lind  already." 

"Oh,  pshaw!  You  get  out!  You're  always  saying  or 
insinuating  that  I  talk  too  much.  Well,  I  dare  say  I  do 
talk  a  good  deal — but  I  suppose  I  was  born  that  way." 

"What!  Surely  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  could 
talk  when  you  were  born  do  you?"  laughingly  exclaimed 
Miss  Ruthbone. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha !  Oh,  no,  of  course  I  didn't  mean  that,  but  I 
am  quite  sure  that  I  could  cry." 

"  Any  baby  can  do  that.  " 

•'Well,  crying  is  next  to  talking. " 

"  Then  3'ou  must  have  done  a  heap  of  crying  when  you 
were  an  infant,"  and  having  reached  the  sidewalk  thedainty 
Miss  Gracie,  out  of  hearing  of  her  mother,  gushingly  and 
confidingly  changed  the  subject  abruptly  by  exclaiming: 

"  Oil, Emily  I  I  vvant  you  to  give  me  a  pressing  invitation 
to  go  home  with  you  this  morning — but  of  course  you 
musn't  let  mamma  know  that  I  suggested  to  you  to  do  so." 

"Why,  what  do  you  take  me  for?"  queried  Miss  Ritter 
with  disgust  in  her  voice,  "Talking  about  being  born,  that 
event  didn't  happen  with  me  yesterday.  " 

"  I  have  got  something  very  especially  particular  to  talk 
and  advise  with  you  about,"  continued  the  sylph,  "very 
particular  indeed.  " 


200 


IJOUDKU  CANUCKS. 


"Well,  what's  the  matter  with  you're  telling  a  fellow 
about  it  now  tlicii.  " 

*'No,  no,  wait  till  mamma  goes  home,  haven't  time  now  ! 
Here  she  comes.     Now  don't  fail  me  Emily  I" 

As  Mrs.  liiithbone,  having  fiiiislied  liur  interview  with 
her  im])euuni()U3  j^^oiege  joined  the  girls  at  the  carriage 
which  was  drawn  up  along-side  the  curb,  Emily  gushingly 
exclaimed  in  appealing  tones:  "Oh,  Mrs.  lltilhbone,  I  do 
so  wish  you'd  let  Giaee  come  home  to  breakfast  with  mo 
this  morning.  I  want  to  sliow  her  the  new  dress  I  got  home 
from  the  dressmaker's  last  niglit,  and  I'll  walk  home  with 
her  afterwards.  " 

"W_'ll,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Rathbone  looking  at  Grace, 
"  would  you  like  to  go  home  with  Emily  for  a  little  while?" 

"Yes,  mamma,  I'd  like  to  go  very  much  if  you  don't 
mind  going  home  alone,  "  and  a  pang  of  remorco  flashed 
across  the  inner  conscience  of  this  arch  schemer. 

•'Oh,  no,  I  don't  mind,"  remarked  the  amiable  little 
mater  as  she  stepped  into  the  carriage,  "  I  shall  expect  you 
to  come  home  early.  Mind  you  come  home  with  her  Emily, 
and  ask  your  mamma  to  allow  you  to  stop  to  dinner  with 
us.  Good-bve,  "  and  the  little  woman  nodded  her  head 
"milingly  to  the  two  conspirators  as  the  carriage  drove  off 
rapidly. 

"Well,  now,  Madame  Von  Bismarck,"  exclaimed  Miss 
Ritter,  masticating  her  quid  of  gum  with  renewed  vigor, 
turning  to  Grace,  "what  is  your  little  game?  Propound 
your  pol'cy,  fulminate  your  project  I  Anything  special  in 
the  wind  ?  "  and  they  proceeded  to  walk  leisurely  along. 


UOUUER  CANUCKS. 


201 


"Well,"  replied  the  sylphitle,  as  she  nervously  gazetl 
down  at  lier  dainty  little  feet  us  they  alternately  bobbed 
forth  from  beneath  her  dress  skirt,  "  I  suppose,  Emily,  you 
would  do  anything  in  reason  for  Jaek,  wouldn't  you  ?" 

"Yes,  you  can  just  bet  I  would,  and  a  good  deal  out  of 
reason,  too,  if  it  came  to  a  pinch  !  Jack's  one  of  my  kind  ! 
No  nonsense  aboui  Johnnie — but  just  level-headed  and 
reliable.  I  just  think  he's  the  nicest  young  fellow  in  the 
city  !  I  know  he  doesn't  think  me  a  regular,  full-fledged 
houri  in  point  of  perso;  1  aj^pearance,  but  I  know  he  likes 
me  in  a  friendly  way,  auw  I  reciprocate  his  friendship.  But 
it's  only  friendship,  you  know;  no  such  thing  as  namby 
pamby  love  could  exist  'twixt  Jack  and  I." 

"Well,  then,  said  the. sylph,  looking  up  at  her  voluble 
and  rotund  friend,  "I  must  tell  you  that  Jack's  got  into 
great  trouble,  and  I'm  afraid  something  awful  is  going  to 
happen !  " 

"Why,  what's  the  matter  with  him?  What's  he  been 
doing?"  and  Miss  Ritter  ceased  her  gum-chewing  and 
gazed  upon  her  nervous  little  companion  with  anxiety  and 
concern  depicted  upon  her  countenance.  "  Has  he  been 
doing  something  he  ought  not  to  have  done  ?  " 

"Well,  papa  thinks  so,  anyway  ;  and  he's  in  a  towering 
rage  about  it" 

"What  is  it?  What  has  he  done — robbed  a  bank  or 
murdered  anybody  ?  " 

"Oh,  no!  nothing  so  very  dreadful.  He  went  up  to 
Belle  River  to  a  race  yesterday  morning  and  hasn't  got 
back  yet  J  and  you  know  papa  had  forbidden  his  going  to 
any  more  of  those  kind  of  races  without  his  express  per- 


lift' 


202 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


mission.  I  am  sure  if  I'd  supposed  that  there  was  going  to 
be  such  a  fuss  made  about  his  going,  I  should  never  have 
helped  him  away," 

"Why,  how  did  you  help  Vim  away?'* 

"  You  know  I  go  to  the  convent  for  my  music  lesson  on 
Saturday  mornings,  and  yesterday  I  pretended  that  I  didn't 
feel  well  enough  to  walk,  and  asked  mamma  to  let  Jack 
drive  me.  In  that  way  he  contrived  to  get  Bijou  and  the 
sleigh  out  of  the  stable  without  being  obliged  to  give  an 
account  of  where  he  was  going." 

"  That  was  very  sisterly  and  very  proper  of  you — just 
what  I'd  have  done.  Only  I  think  I'd  have  left  the  music 
for  some  future  day  and  gone  to  the  race  with  him." 

"  Oh,  Emily !"  exclaimed  the  sylph  blushing.  "  I  could 
not  have  gone  with  Jack  yesterday.  " 

*'  Well  I  should  have  if  I'd  been  in  your  place — that  is  if 
he'd  have  consented  to  take  me  of  course — and  your  father 
is  kicking  up  Dido  about  it,  ay  ?" 

"  Yes,  he's  just  rampant !"  asserted  Gracie. 

"  Well,  confound  those  old  men  anyway  !  I  know  what 
they  are  when  they  get  their  backs  up,  you  bet !"  oracularly 
observed  Miss  Eitter.  "  We've  got  one  at  our  house  who, 
from  morning  till  night,  now  that  he's  got  that  rheumatic 
gout,  day  in  and  day  out,  week  days,  Sundays,  holidays  and 
holy  days — it  makes  no  difference  when — wears  a  hump 
on  his  back  as  big  as  a  camel.  I'll  back  him  for  cantanker- 
ousnesss  against  any  aged  gentleman  citizen  of  these  United 
States  and  pay  anybody  that'll  take  the  bet.  Oh,  yes,  I 
know  what  a  grumbling,  nagging  old  man  is  I    It's  only 


BORDZR  CANUCKS. 


203 


sometimes  with  you  at  your  1  Ous?,  but  it-'s  come  to  stay 
with  us." 

"Well,  I  hope  it's  not  come  to  stay  with  us,  "  tremulously 
exclaimed  Miss  Rathbone.  "  I  never  saw  papa  so  beside 
himself  as  he  was  last  night,  and  I've  seen  him  angry  with 
Jack  very  often." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  is  going  to  be  done  with  him 
when  he  returns  on  this  occasion?" 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know, "  replied  the  sylph  nervously, 
forgetting  for  the  moment  the  main  object  of  her  morning's 
expedition.  "  Mamma  has  always  heretofore  contrivfAi  to 
smooth  matters  over  for  Jack  with  papa,  but  I  am  u'raid 
something  awful  is  going  to  happen  this  time.  " 

"Your  father  is  certainly  not  going  to  try  to  whip  him, 
is  he  ?  because  from  what  I  know  of  Jack,  that  would  be  a 
big  undertaking  if  he  didn't  choose  to  submit. " 

"Oh,  of  course  papa  would  not  attempt  to  whip  Jack! 
My  brother  is  too  much  of  a  man  for  that  now, "  proudly 
assented  the  sylph  with  confidence,  "  but  I'm  afraid  he's 
going  to  do  something  far  worse.  " 

"Why,  what  on  earth  can  he  do?  lie  is  not  going  to 
shoot  his  own  son,  surely  !  And  he  can't  have  him  pat  in 
juil,  because  going  to  a  race  at  Belle  River  is  not  a  criminal 
offense,  if  I  know  anything  about  the  laws  of  this  great  and 
glorious  country  ! '' 

"No,"  responded  Grace,  with  a  little  sob,  as  she  put  her 
handkerchief  up  to  her  eyes,  "I  think  he'll  be  sent  away 
from  home — banished,  you  know — at  least  for  a  short  time." 

"Well,  worse  things  than  that  might  take  place,  I'm  sure. 
It  might  turn  out  the  best  thing  that  could  happen  Jack  to 


Hi 


■). 


204 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


be  sent  away  somewhere  for  a  time.  To  see  a  little  of  the 
world  outside  of  Detroit  would  certainly  not  injure  him 
But  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  What  has  all  this 
got  to  do  with  your  wanting  me  to  in\lte  you  to  breakfast 
this  morning?"  enquired  Miss  Eitter,  with  vibratory  jaws, 
as  they  reached  the  corner  of  the  street  leading  to  the  Bitter 
habitation. 

"I'll  tell  you,  Emily,"  siraperingly  replied  the  dainty 
little  schemer,  as  she  became  intent  upon  her  pretty  little 
feet  again ;  "  I  thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  go  down 
to  the  ferry  and  meet  Jack  when  he  comes  over,  and  tell 
him  how  matters  stand  at  home ;  and  I'd  like  you  to  go 
with  me."  ' 

"  Why,  of  course  I'll  go  with  you,"  assented  the  other 
gushingly,  "  and  right  glad  if  I  thought  it  would  do  Jack 
any  good"  she  added,  as  she  took  her  quid  of  gum  out  of 
her  mouth  ^nd  kneaded  it  between  her  fore  finger  and 
thumb.  "Bat  I  must  say  that  I  fail  to  see  the  merit  of 
telling  a  fellow  beforehand  that  he's  going  to  be  annihil- 
ated when  he  returns  to  the  parental  roof  after  a  truant 
abseuce." 

To  this,  the  now  subdued  and  crest-fallen  little  schemer 
made  no  reply  as  they  turned  and  took  their  way  in  the 
direction  of  the  ferry  landing. 

"Did  anybody  go  to  Belle  Eiver  with  Jack?"  asked 
Miss  Hitter  as,  after  inspecting  her  chew  of  gum  intently 
and  absently  for  an  instant,, she  restored  it  back  to  her 
mouth  again. 

"  Go  to  Belle  River  with  Jack,  did  you  say,  Emily?  " 

"  Yes,  did  anybody  from  the  city  go  to  the  race  with 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


205 


him?"  repeated  Emily  pointedly,  gazing  upon  the  mantling 
little  face  of  the  conscious  sylph  and  munching  away  at  her 
gum  voraciously. 

"  Why,  yes,  Emily,  "  replied  the  little  one  with  affected 
surprise.  "  Didn't  I  tell  you  before  ?  Why,  Charley  Ford 
went  with  him,  you  know." 

"Oh,  pshaw  I"  exclaimed  Miss  Ritter  in  tones  of  disgust. 
"  I'm  just  too  green  to  live  in  the  winter  time.  Why,  of 
course !  Now  I  know  why  you're  so  anxious  to  go  down 
to  meet  Jack  at  the  ferry !" 

"Oh,  Emily!"  remonstrated  the  sylph  with  face  aflame, • 
"  No,  you  don't,  either." 

"  Yes,  I  do,  though,"  insisted  the  other  as  she  demonstra- 
tively munched  away.  "Of  course  1  do!  and  all  I've  got 
to  say  is  that  you're  welcome  to  your  fancy." 

"  I  haven't  got  any  fancy  !  you  know  I  haven't,  Emily  I" 
intent  upon  the  sidewalk. 

"  No,  I  don't  know  anything  of  the  sort  Miss  Rathbone, 
either!  I've  got  ears  to  hear  as  any  one  who'll  con- 
descend to  look  at  me  will  see  for  himself  or  herself  with- 
out the  aid  of  magnifying  glasses ;  and  my  eyes,  although 
they  may  not  be  absolutely  dazzling  orbs,  suit  me  well 
enough  to  see  with." 

"  But  you're  wrong  about  my  having  any  special  fancy 
for  anyone,"  deprecated  the  blushing  little  schemer. 

"Oh,  no,  I'm  not  wrong,"  urged  Emily  confidently. 
"But  what  Jack  can  see  in  that  dude  to  be  always  toting 
him  about  with  him  is  more  than  I  can  explain  to  my  own 
satisfaction."  « 


'  1 


206 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"  "What  do  you  mean  by  a  dude?"  demurely  asked  Grace, 
looking  ahead  of  her. 

"A  dude!  why  he's  a  thing  in  tight  pants  and  pointed 
shoes,  a  high,  shiny,  sti£E  dog  collar — the  chief  foundation 
of  his  little  head,  and  a  beard,  (if  he's  old  enough  to  grow 
one)  that  looks  like  another  man's  back  hair  parted  in  tlie 
middle,  plastered.on  his  chin,  a  tight  fitting  cut-away  coat,  a 
round  top  hard  hat,  and  when  he's  an  extra  fine  sample  of 
the  breed,  he  wears  a  short  stick  and  a  rimless  eye  glass 
stuck  in  his  right  eye.  " 

"  But  Charley  Ford  doesn't  wear  a  short  stick  and  an  eye 
glass,"  interposed  Gracie  deprecatingly. 

"  No,  I  know  he  doesn't — at  least  I  never  saw  him  wear 
one,"  qualified  Miss  Eitter,  "  but  if  he  doesn't,  it's  because 
he's  only  half-fledged  as  yet.  You  just  wait  until  he  gets 
all  his  feathers  and  you'll  see  that  he'll  blossom  forth  into  a 
dude  with  the  closest  observance  to  details  of  costume,  as 
theatrical  managers  say  of  their  performances.  Well, 
there's  the  boat  just  coming  in  now,  "  added  this  gum- 
chewing  despiser  of  the  genus  dude  as  they  neared  the  ferry 
landing  at  the  foot  of  the  street,  "  and  I  don't  see  any  grey 
pony  and  sleigh  on  the  forward  deck.  " 

"  No,  neither  do  I,  "  assented  the  sylph  disappointedly 
absorbed  in  an  inward  contemplation  of  what  a  queer  com- 
pound of  human  idiocyncrasies  a  dude  and  a  prototype  of 
Jesse  James  all  rolled  up  into  one  man  would  make.  "  It's 
the  Victoria  too,  the  boat  Jack  usually  crosses  on,  "  she 
added. 

*'  Well,  we'll  wait  until  the  people  get  off,  "  suggested  the 
practical  Miss  Eitter,  "  and  then  we'll  go  on  board  and  ask 


y 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


207 


the  Captain  if  they  came  over  with  him  on  any  of  his  pre- 
vious trips  this  morning." 

And  following  this  suggestion  the  two  girls  silently  stood 
without  the  exit  gangway  and  waited  until  the  passengers, 
a  large  number  of  them  intending  worshipers  at  the  various 
churches  in  the  city  that  morning,  streamed  off  the  ferry 
boat. 


hai 
tvk 
De 

WOi 

] 

eve 

adv 
enir 
em 
in  t 
a  so 
the 

Oth€ 

A 

annc 
Detr 
part 
is  th 
Bi 
relat: 
belor 


CHAPTER  XIL 


Friendly  Relations,  or  Ultimate  Annexation  t 

rpo  STRANGERS  visiting  the  neighborhood  for  the  first 
•^  time  —  those  having  a  proper  understanding  of  the 
hampered  nature  of  trade  relations  between  the  two  coun- 
tries—  the  constant  stream  of  travel  and  traffic  between 
Detroit  and  Windsor  is  ever  a  matter  of  surprise,  not  to  say 
wonder. 

If  that  at  present  problematical  chimera,  annexation,  were 
ever  brought  about,  while  Detroit  would  be  enormously 
advantaged  as  a  trade  centre,  in  that  it  would  make  her  the 
entrepot  of  the  most  fertile  and  productive  portion  of  south- 
ern Ontario,  in  addition  to  her  already  tributary  possessions 
in  that  regard,  Windsor  would  feel  the  transition  less  from 
a  social  point  of  view  and  be  more  materially  benefited  in 
the  enhancement  of  values  of  real  estate  than  would  any 
other  Canadian  town  along  the  frontier. 

At  present  a  quasi  suburb  of  the  City  of  the  Straits,  with 
annexation,  she  would  inevitably  become  a  sort  of  South 
Detroit — as  Brooklyn  is  to  New  York,  if  not  absolutely 
part  and  parcel  of  her  fair  metropolitan  neighbor  —  so  strong 
is  the  social  and  commercial  affinity  'twixt  the  two  cities. 

But,  for  that  matter,  do  not  advocates  of  closer  national 
relations  claim  that  this  same  affinity,  to  a  marked  degree, 
belongs  to  the  two  countries  at  large,  albeit  they  each  of 


14 


(209) 


210 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


them  have  a  brusque  way  of  showing  it  at  times,  to  use  a 
mild  phrase? 

Yet,  from  a  Canadian's  point  of  view,  there  would  seem 
to  he  something  touchingly  mch^ncholy  in  the  bare  thought 
of  his  being  cajoled,  negotiated  or  forced  into  relinquishing 
so  fair  a  national  heritage  as  he  possesses  in  his  vast  and 
prolific  domain,  and  the  superior  judiciary  laws  he  enjoys 
under  a  more  utterly  democratic  form  of  government  than 
have  his  brothers  at  the  south  of  him. 

lie  argues  that  he  has  everything  to  be  proud  of  in  the 
twenty-two  years  of  his  young  national  life ;  that  the  devel- 
opment of  his  country's  boundless  resources,  though  still 
upon  the  threshold  of  its  being,  has  thus  far  been  produc- 
tive of  marvelous  results,  and  that  with  an  abiding  faith 
and  pride  in  his  national  birth-right,  he  can  work  out  his 
own  destiny  and  maintain  his  own  national  identity  upon 
the  lines  laid  down  with  the  inaguration  of  confederation 
in  1867. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  this  will  be  the  attitude 
assumed  and  firmly  upheld  by  the  French  portion  of 
Canada's  population  when  the  question  of  annexation  takes 
on  a  tangible  form  or  shape  with  a  definite  coloring  as  a  liv- 
ing issue  before  the  Canadian  people. 

In  the  meantime  certain  of  their  politicians,  to  serve 
ephemeral  party  ends,  may  find  it  in  them  to  coquet 
with  the  question  ;  but  when  the  time  comes,  if  come  it 
must,  the  descendants  of  La  Nouvelle  France,  judging  them 
by  the  light  of  their  heroically  unique  and  conservative 
history  upon  this  continent,  will  be  found  to  a  man  shoulder 
to  shoulder,  defending  the  identity  of  their  language  and 


BOliDEB  CANUCKS. 


211 


the  maintenance  of  their  "  peculiar  institutions"  which,  in 
the  event  of  Canada's  absorption  into  the  Union,  would  of 
necessity  cease  and  determine  as  guaranteed  privileges. 

The  untrammelled  exercise  of  these  guaranteed  privil- 
eges, since  confederation,  in  that  part  of  the  Dominion 
known  as  the  Province  of  Quebec,  has  made  that  part  of 
Canada  more  French  than  many  parts  of  old  France,  and 
from  a  religious  point  of  view  perhaps  the  most  so-called 
ultra  Montane  country  in  the  civilized  world. 

From  the  vantage  ground  of  that  Province  during  the 
last  dozen  years  and  more,  have  been  promulgated  teach- 
ings designed  to  set  aflame  in  vigorous  glow  an  esprit  de  corps 
as  to  its  national  origin  and  entity  which  had  languished 
and  declined  to  the  condition  of  slowly  dying  embers  with 
the  descendants  of  the  French  race  outside  the  limits  of  its 
own  confines. 

Hence  it  is  now  that  we  hear  of  French  aggression  in 
Ontario  and  Manitoba,  and  an  irrepressible  conflict  would 
seem  to  have  been  inaugurated.  Nor  has  the  influence  of 
these  teachings  been  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  Dominion. 

It  has  extended  itself  to  Northern  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
the  eastern  manufacturing  states,  and  wherever  communities 
of  French  Canadians  are  to  be  found  established  throughout 
the  union. 

While  fifteen  years  ago  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  the 
states  bordering  on  the  dominion,  to  hear  two  French  Cana- 
dians carrying  on  a  conversation  in  broken  English  with  each 
other,  as  if  they  were  ashamed  of  their  own  mother  tongue, 
now  they  prefer  and  seem  proud  of  their  own  native  patois 
as  a  means  of  inter-communication. 


212 


BORDER  CANUCEa 


In  respect  of  Quebec's  attitude  with  reference  to  the 
English  speaking,  provinces,  which  constitute  the  great  bullc 
of  the  Dominion  confederation,  if  one  chose  to  indulge  in 
analogy  one  might  plausibly  demonstrate  that,  with  her 
guaranteed  "  peculiar  institutions, "  her  position  as  to  the 
union  of  the  British  provinces  on  this  continent  assimilates 
very  strongly  to  what  was  that  of  the  Southern  States  and 
their  institution  of  slavery  in  respect  of  the  American  union 
before  the  late  civil  war  in  this  country. 

Then  there  is  another  coincidence  belonging  to  the  two 
positions  which  might  be  profitably  speculated  upon  by 
Canadians,  and  that  is  that  while  the  Southern  States  prac- 
tically controlled  the  government  of  the  union  up  to  the 
first  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  the  Province  of  Quebec  has 
been  the  de  facto  ruler  of  the  destinies  of  Canada,  since  the 
union  of  the  two  Provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada 
in  1841. 

When  the  South  lost  her  control  she  withdrew  from  the 
Union,  fired  upon  Fort  Sumpter  and  let  loose  the  dogs  of 
war;  and  there  are  those  who  say  that  they  can  see  a  hand- 
writing upon  the  wall,  indicating  a  similar  course  on  the 
part  of  the  French  province  as  to  the  Canadian  Union  so 
soon  as  the  time  shall  become  ripe  for  it. 

Should  history  repeat  itself,  as  it  were,  in  this  manner, 
then  would  annexation  become  a  tangible  issue  and  per- 
chance a  practical  proposition ;  but  until  then,  Canada  will 
be  likely  to  prefer  to  paddle  her  own  canoe  after  her  own 
democratic  methods  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  British  Empire. 

However  this  may  be,  the  present  neighborly  intercourse 
existing  between  the  two  sides  of  the  border  at  Detroit  and 


BORDEIi  CANUCKS. 


213 


Windsor,  despite  custom's  exactions,  is  likely  to  continue  ; 
and  the  latter  city,  because  of  the  number  of  Detroiters 
who  are  constantly  taking  up  tlieir  residences  there,  is  prac- 
tically becoming  a  handsomely  embellished  civic  adjunct 
to  her  larger  and  fairer  cousin  across  the  noble  river. 

Nothing  has  contributed  more  to  bringing  about  this 
state  of  things  than  the  admirably  systematic  and  puncturl 
ferry  service  which  exists  between  the  two  cities.  This  is 
performed  by  an  organization  known  as  the  "Detroit  Belle 
Isle  and  Windsor  Ferry  Company,"  whose  five  large 
steamers,  for  the  purpose  they  were  designed,  are  unique 
specimens  of  marine  architecture. 

Tlie  harbinger  of  the  line  and  peculiar  style  of  model  d 
the  "  Victoria  "  which  was  designed  by  her  one-time  Captain, 
now  the  manager  of  the  line. 

When  that  gallant  mariner  descended  from  his  pilot  house 
to  the  main  deck  of  the  vessel  after  landing  on  the  American 
side  on  the  })articular  Sunday  morning  referred  to  in  the  last 
chapter,  little  Grace  Rathbone  and  her  loquacious  friend 
Emily  Ritter  approached  him.  "  Good  morning  captain, " 
said  Emily. 

"  Good  morning,  young  ladies,  good  morning, "  replied 
the  skipper  with  unctuous  hospitality,  "going  over  to  Europe 
with  us?'' 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  that  the  Canadian  side  of  the 
river  at  this  point  is  often  facetiously  called  "Europe"  by 
both  ferrymen  and  their  patrons. 

"No,  we're  not  going  across  this  morning,  we  simply 
wanted  to  know  whether  young  Mr.  Rathbotie  and  his  pony 
and  sleigh  have  crossed  with  you  from  the  other  side  this 


*   ii 


214 


BOllDKU  CANUCKS. 


morning  or  not?'*  and  Miss  Ritter's  jaws  paused  for  reply. 

*'  You  know  him  when  you  see  liim,  don't  you  captain  ?" 
queried  Grace. 

•'Oh  yes,  miss,  I  know  young  Mr.  Rathbone  riglit  well. 
No,  he  hasn't  crossed  the  river  this  morning,  that  I'm  sure 
of,  because  you  see  this  being  Sunday,  we  are  the  only  bout 
running  up  to  this  time  this  morning.  " 

"Then  I  suppose  we'd  better  go  back  and  loaf  about 
until  he  does  come  over,  hadn't  we  Gracie?"  suggested 
Emily. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  that's  the  only  thing  we  can  do.  " 

"  Mr.  Rathbone  crossed  with  me  yesterday  morning, " 
observed  the  captain,  "  and  I  had  some  conservation  with 
him  as  he  drove  aboard  on  this  side.  He  told  me  that  he 
was  going  up  to  the  "Widow  Martin's  at  Belle  River  to  a 
race.  " 

"  Yes,  that's  where  he  went  and  he  hasn't  got  back  yet, " 
replied  Grace  regretfully. 

"  I  suppose  he  couldn't  get  away.  Those  French  races 
sometimes  last  till  after  dark,  and  if  he  stopped  at  the 
widow's  all  night  he  will  probably  have  started  from  there 
to  drive  back  along  about  eight  o'clock,  and  if  so  he  ought 
to  be  along  pretty  soon  now,  "  and  then  the  genial  mariner, 
assuming  a  quizzical  tone,  continued,  "  but  see  here  young 
ladies,  ain't  this  pretty  early  Sunday  moiring  to  be  looking 
for  your  fellahs  ?" 

"  We're  not  looking  for  our 'fellahs  *  captain,  "  exclaimed 
the  ready  witted  Emily.  "  This  is  Miss  Gracie  Rathbone  and 
shd  is  looking  for  her  brother  who  crossed  with  you  yes- 


BOHDKU   CANUCKS. 


2lo 


terday  morning, "  thid  with  such  stress  upon  tlio  brotlicr 
as  niatlo  tlie  sylphitlo's  cliccks  tingle. 

"  All,  that's  it,  is  it?  Glad  to  know  you  ]Miss  ll:ithbono,  " 
and  the  skipper  touched  liis  cap  gallantly.  "I've  ktiovvn 
your  father  well  on  to  thirty  years  now,  and  Mr.  Hitter,  his 
partner  too,  I  have  known  for  very  nearly  ns  long.  " 

"This  is  Miss  Emily  Rittcr,  Mr.  Hitter's  daughter,"Haid 
Grace,  aihlre.s.sing  the  Captain  as  with  her  hands  in  her 
pretty  little  muH   she  nodded  her  head  at  that  young  lady. 

"  Oh,  I  see,  this  is  Miss  Rittcr,  ay  ?  Pleased  to  know  you 
miss,  "  and  the  captain  again  touching  his  cap  politely  con- 
tinued, "Well  then,  we  have  the  whole  firm  of  RathboneA; 
Ritter  represented  right  here,  haven't  we?" 

"  Yes,  captain,  "  replied  Emily  as  she  ground  away  at  her 
gum,  "  we  represent  the  domestic  interests  of  the  firm  of 
Raihbone  &  Ritter  on  this  occasion  and  I  want  you  par- 
ticularly to  understand  that  the  representative  of  the  junior 
partner  hasn't  got  a  '  fellah  *  and  what's  more  isn't  hanker- 
ing after  one  either. " 

"Ha,  ha,  ha,  "  laughed  the  skipper,  "well  that's  a  kind 
o'remarkuble  I  must  say.  Why,  a  good-looking  young 
lady  like  you —  " 

•'  Oh,  you  get  out,  captain !"  interposed  Miss  Ritter  with  a 
toss  of  her  head,  "none  of  your  blarney — I  know  just  how 
good-looking  I  am.  " 

"  Well  then,  how  is  it  that  you  have'n't  half  a  dozen 
'fellahs*  dangling  after  you?"  demanded  the  captain 
chalfingly. 

"  Because  I  don't  want  them." 


1/ 


216 


BOKDEK   CANUCKS. 


"  Ah^  yes,  that  must  bo  it ;  but  you  mustn't  take  oHense 
at  what  I  say,  Miss  Ritter." 

"Oh,  I'm  not  oITonaea." 

"That's  right,"  remarked  the  skipper,  approvingly.  "You 
see  if  we  ferry-men  weren't  allowed  to  joke  with  our  pas- 
sengers sometimes,  ours  would  be  a  very  dull  and  monoto- 
nous business." 

"Yes,  I  suppose  it  would,"  assented  the  voluble  one, 
"and  you  can. joke  with  me  whenever  I  cross  with  you  — 
pleased  to  have  you." 

"Well,  now,  since  we've  had  our  joke  this  morning, 
come  along  and  go  over  with  us  for  a  ride.  You'll  prob- 
ably find  Master  Rathbone  on  the  dock  waiting  to  come 
rtcross  when  we  get  over  there." 

"Well,  what  do  you  say,  Grace,  '  asked  Emily,  "shall 
we  go  ?  " 

"  Yes,  thank  you,  captain,"  replied  the  sylphide  demurely; 
"  1  think  it  would  be  nice  to  go  over  when  there's  so  much 
ice  in  the  river  ;  its  so  exciting." 

"That's  right,  come  right  along,  young  ladies.  I  must 
go  back  to  my  post  in  the  pilot  house  now,"  and  he  turned 
to  move  away. 

"See  here,  captain!"  cried  Emilj^,  jocularly,  "wait  a 
moment;  I  want  to  tell  you  before  you  go  that  I  guess  I'm 
the  only  girl  on  this  boat  this  trip  that  hasn't  got  a  '  fellah,'  *" 
and  she  motioned  meaningly  towards  Grace. 

"  Oh,  I  twig !  "  exclaimed  the  jolly  ferry-man.  "  I  think 
I  understand  how  the  land  lies  now.  Mr.  Charley  Ford 
went  up  to  Belle  River  with  Mr.  Rathboue  yesterday,  and  I 


BORlJEK   CANUCKS. 


217 


suppose  he'll  be  coming  back  with  him  this  morning,  won't 
he?" 

Poor  little  schemer ;  how  her  face  burned  I  '  * 

"  Yes,"  assented  Miss  Rittcr,  with  a  twinkle  in  her  eye 
and  a  nod  of  her  head,  as  she  munched  at  her  gum,  *'  that's 
the  calculation." 

"  Mr.  Ford  is  a  great  friend  of  mine.  Knew  his  father, 
Gustavus  Ford,  well,  too.  I  think  Charley  is  about  the 
handsomest  young  man  in  the  city — but  I  must  get  into 
that  pilot  house  and  leave  now.  Good-bye  for  the  present, 
young  ladies ;  see  you  on  the  other  side,"  and  the  master  of 
the  Victoria  rapidly  ascended  the  stairway  leading  to  the 
pilot  house. 

And  now  the  poor  little  schemer,  with  mingled  feelings 
of  pride  and  shame,  tremblingly  said  to  the  cruel  Miss 
Eitter:  "Emily,  I  think  you're  just  a  real  mean  thing  I 
and  the  captain,  with  all  his  politeness,  is  an  impudent  old 
fellow !  that's  what  he  is !" 

"  Well,  I  like  that !"  exclaimed  the  other ;  "  what's  struck 
you.  Miss  Rathbone?  Why,  didn't  you  hear  the  captain 
say  that  Charley  Ford  was  the  handsomest  young  man  in 
the  city?  How  could  you  call  him  ao  nipudent  old  fellow 
after  that?" 

"  Well,  I  don't  care  whnb  he  juid ;  he's,  an  impudent  old 
thing!''  exclaimed  the  sylphidc  sharply,  with  changing 
color.  "I  don't  see  how  it  is  th!it  you  are  always  down  on 
Charley  Ford." 

Because  he's  down  upon  me. 

"  •  Our  love  is  mutual,  this  wc  know.' " 


a  ' 


V 

••• 

'■' 

i*^.? 

1 

218 


BORDEU   CAXUCKS. 


And  Miss  Rlttcr  pioceedetl  to  hum  the  air  of  the  song. 

*'  Well,  then,  I  don't  see  why  you  should  be  constantly 
introducing  his  name  when  there's  no  necessity  for  it." 

"I  am  not  constantly  introducing  his  name !" 

^'  Yes,  you  are !  and  I'm  very  sorry  I  asked  you  to  come 
— there  now  !"  and  the  dainty  little  Grade's  face  was  aflame 
with  tremulous  anger. 

"  Well,  so  am  I  sorry  you  asked  me  to  come  on  such  an 
expedition!"  chewed  out  Miss  Eitter  with  indifference  as 
they  went  to  the  side  of  the  now  moving  steamer. 

As  the  powerful  vessel  moved  away  from  her  wharf  and 
breasted  the  thickly  frozen  water  field  the  girls  gazed  over 
the  railing  at  the  receding  ice  over  which  with  loud  sound- 
ing vibration  they  seemed  to  fly. 

Further  crimination  and  recrimination  as  to  Mr.  Charley 
Ford  was  therefore  put  a  stop  to  between  them  for  the  time 
being. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Jacobin  Clocks  and  "  Le  ehemin  de  croia.^ 


rriHERE  WAS  a  remarkable  coincidence  in  the  conduct 
-^  of  the  two  clocks  ^hich  marked  the  hours  and  regu- 
lated the  going  and  the  coming,  the  rising  and  retiring  at 
the  Widow  Martin's  tavern  on  the  memorable  Saturday 
night  of  the  particular  ball  involved  in  these  chronicles  at 
that  hospitable  caravansary. 

When  the  highly  respectable-looking,  old-fashioned, 
heavy-weighted,  long-pendulum  gentleman,  standing  in  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  dining-hall  ball  room,  who  slowly 
ticked  Time's  fleeting  sands  away,  reached  the  twenty- 
second  hour  plus  the  fortieth  minute  of  the  twenty-third 
hour  of  that  memorable  day,  a  close  observer  might  have 
perceived  that  his  hands  had  ceased  to  move  and  his  ticks 
had  ceased  to  tick.  " 

While  the  square  shaped,  Sam  Slick  plebian  party,  who 
scored  time  for  the  Avenger  behind  the  bar  counter,  sus- 
pended operations  justpthree  minutes  later,  or  at  exactly  ten 
forty -three  P.  M.,  to  be  accurate. 

This,  it  is  presumed  in  the  case  of  the  venerable  and 
vibrator}"-,  albeit  dignified  and  upright,  gentleman  in  the 
dining-hall  ball  room  was  due  to  a  tender  feeling  of  solici- 
tude for  him  in  his  headlong,  irrevocable  career  on  the  part 
of  a  bevy  of  laughing,  giggling  girls,  who  hovered  about 
his  tall,  black-walnut  frame  at  precisely  the  moment  of  his 
cessation  of  business ;  while  the  hourly  and  vulgarly  reso- 

(219) 


1 1 
t 


./i 


220 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


nant  Sam  Slick,  perched  amidst  the  bottles  and  decanters 
on  the  shelves  behind  the  bar  counter,  was  induced  to  sus- 
pend his  occupation  of  second  clipping  by  the  accommodat- 
ing and  sympathetic  barkeeper. 

Meanwhile  the  only  intermissions  of  varying  lengths 
between  the  dances  were  caused  by  the  constantly  recurring 
desire  for  refreshment  on  the  part  of  the  band  which 
seemed,  however,  not  perceptibly  to  influence  his  mental  or 
physical  condition. 

*'  Mons.  Duplessis, "  said  L  j/ai^e  Martin  in  French  to  him 
on  his  return  to  the  ball  rooui  \im.  one  of  his  periodic 
foraging  expeditions,  "  if  you'll  not  go  into  the  bar  again 
before  supper  I'll  make  you  a  nice  present  of  something, 
you'll  see  if  I  don't!" 

"But  when  are  we  going  to  have  supper  ma  chere  Madam- 
oiselle  ?  I'm  sure  it  must  be  past  twelve  and  3fon  Dieu !  but 
I  am  hungry." 

"  What  are  you  saying  to  the  professor?"  asked  Charley 
Ford,  on  whose  arm  Rosalie  leaned — Mr.  Ford's  knowledge 
of  French  was  somewhat  crude  and  imperfect 

"  Ah  am  telling  heem  "  she  explained  in  her  pretty  accent, 
"dat  eef  he  weel  not  go  into  de  !5ar  any  more  beefore 
suppeur  Ah  weel  mac  heem  a  present  of  someting.  " 

"  Yes  Moses,  and  I'll  give  you  a  half  a  dollar  if  you'll  not 
take  another  drink  before  supper,  "  added  Charley. 

"  Tank  you,  monsieur !  tank  you !  but  Mon  Dieu  I  when 
we  wus  goan  have  suppeur?  Ah  wus  moss  starve  now! 
Bah  gosh  I  Ah  wus  hungray  lac  a  peeg.  " 

"  But  you  don't  look  hungry,  "  observed  Charley  as  he 
quizzically  gazed  upon  Monsieur  Duplessis'  ungainly  and 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


221 


greasy  proportions  as  he  ascended  to  his  perch  on  the  dry 
goods  box  in  the  southeast  corner. 

"Well,  Ah  feels  hungray  jews  de  sam, "  grunted  Moses, 
"  an  tirstay  too !  Ah'll  toll  you.  Monsieur,  dare  wus  nutting 
lac  play  de  feedle  fur  mac  a  mans  hungray  an  tirstay  bote  at 
de  sam  tam  1" 

"  Well,  play  a  polka  for  us  now  and  I  guess  supper  will 
not  be  very  far  off  by  the  time  you  finish.  Will  it  Miss 
•Kose?" 

"  Oh,  no,  eet  ees  most  near  ready  now.  " 

"  Eh  hien  mes  amis  /"  called  out  Mons.  Duplessis  as  he 
resumed  his  seat  on  the  rostrum,  "  took  yo  pardneur  fur  a 
polkay  an  afteur  dat  Ah  guess  we  goan  have  sum  suppeur," 
and  as  he  leant  over  to  take  his  fiddle  out  of  its  box  he 
oracularly  continued,  "  eef  you  doan  feed  yo  hoss  he  coo'nt 
wuck!  Eef  you  doan  wine  yo  clock  she's  not  go  I  an  eef  you 
doan  geeve  yofeedleursumtingto  heat  an  sumting  for  drink 
he  coo'n't  feedell,  dat's  sure  ting ! " 

But  when,  after  a  due  amount  of  discordant  see-sawing  in 
the  preliminary  process  of  tuning  up,  Monsieur  le  Professeur 
did  commence  the  production  of  an  antediluvian  air  with 
resonant  pedal  taps  upon  the  rostrum  as  an  accompaniment, 
the  polka  did  not  prove  an  especially  huge  success. 

At  least  not  to  the  extent  an  old-fashioned  waltz  or 
quadrille  or  cotillion  would  have  been  with  the  heaux  esprits 
of  the  neighborhood. 

Not  more  than  four  or  five  couples  out  of  the  large  num- 
ber present  were  on  the  floor  at  any  one  time  during  the 
jiggy  stuccatoand  not  always  concordant  measures  of  Mons. 
Duplessis'  fiddle  and  bow  ;  while  the  onlookers  gazed  upon 


222 


BOllDEll  CANUCKS. 


these,  if  not  with  envious  eyes,  at  least  with  askant  air,  as 
if  they  felt  they  were  being  practiced  upon  by  reason  of 
their  lack  of  knowledge  of  fashionable  metropolitan  airs  and 
graces. 

Hence  it  shortly  came  about  that  Madamoiselle  Rosalie's 
sense  of  the  proprieties  as  assistant  hostess  on  the  occasion, 
soon  prompted  her  to  forego  the  beguiling  delight  of  being 
swung  about  the  room  on  the  strong  right  arm  of  the  grace- 
ful and  handsome  Mr.  Charley  Ford ;  and  coming  to  a  stand- 
still for  lack  of  breath  near  to  the  professor's  rostrum,  she 
gave  the  latter  to  understar  '^  that  the  polka  might  come  to 
a  finale^  which  was  i.ccou.|jiished  on  the  instant  without 
unnecessary  flourish  by  the  half  famished  and  ever  thirsty 
band. 

Jack  Rathbone  was  not  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  dancing 
and,  as  has  been  said  before,  not  an  especial  votary  of  the 
tenderer  sex  of  his  own  age. 

He  had  danced  twice  with  Blanche,  Peter  Bertrand's 
pretty  daughter,  and  once  each  with  Rosalie  Martin  and 
other  girls,  but  he  was  more  particularly  attentive  to  the 
widow,  and  in  a  spirit  of  badinage  even  went  so  far  as  to 
assure  that  festive  matron  that  he  would  like  to  try  conclu- 
sions with  her  in  a  two-handed  reel,  which  only  made  her 
laughingly  say:  "Oh,  no.  Monsieur  Ratbone,  Ah  weel 
nevaire  dance  no  more  aftaire  dees.  Ah  have  revenge  ole 
Crapaud  bah  beatin  Pierro  Bertrand  to-night,  an  Ah  am 
well  sateesfy." 

"But  wouldn't  you  like  to  revenge  yourself  upon  me, 
too,  in  the  same  way?"  remonstrated  Jack,  quizically. 

"  What  Ah  want  revenge  meself  on  one  of  mah  good  fren 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


223 


lao  you  wus,  Monsieur  Ratbone  ? "  queried  the  widow, 
opening  her  pretty  eyes  to  their  widest  and  gazing  upon 
Jack  smilingly. 

"  Why,  because  Peter  has  named  the  little  chestnut  after 


ij 


me. 

"  Ila,  ha,  ha  1 "  laughed  the  owner  of  Crapaud,  "  dat  wus 
good  joke.  Why,  Monsieur  Jack,  de  way  Ah  feel  jews 
now  acose  he  have  beat  us  today,  Ah  tink  hees  nam  wus 
de  bess  part  ov  de  ponay.  Oh,  no,  ole  Crapaud  have 
reetire  from  de  race  beesness  an  hees  meestress  have  reetire 
from  dancin.  Why  don't  you  go  an  got  one  ov  dem 
young  gell  standin  bah  de  clock  een  decorneur  ovaire  dare, 
Mons.  Ratbone  ?  "  and  lowering  her  voice  to  a  whisper  she 
bent  her  head  over  towards  Jack's  ear  and  said  :  "  Ah  kin 
tell  you  one  ting:  dey  wus  all  een  love  wit  you!"  and 
squeezing  Jack's  arm  with  both  hands,  with  many  confirm- 
atory nods  of  her  head,  she  passed  out  into  the  kitchen  to 
look  after  preparations  for  supper. 

But  any  little  flattering  episode  of  the  evening  like  this, 
or  any  of  Jack's  attempts  at  jollity,  were  pervaded  by  con- 
stantly recurring  thoughts  of  his  return  home  on  the 
morrow.  He  was  haunted  by  a  premonition  that  something 
unusual  was  in  store  for  him  against  his  return  to  the 
parental  roof;  and  while  he  was  not  physically  one  jot 
afraid  of  any  possible  consequences  that  migiit  accrue  from 
his  presence  there  that  evening,  he  was  made  morally 
nervous  whenever  he  contemplated  the  probable  results  of 
his  father's  attacks  upon  his  mother's  comfort  and  happiness 
in  consequence  of  this  surreptitious  outing. 

Ill  the  pauses  of  conversation  with  his  various  partners. 


<  V 

li 


224 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


'A, 


I 


commencing  with  Blanche  Bertrand  in  the  opening  quad- 
rille, throughout  the  night  his  thoughts  would  ever  revert 
back  to  this  and  he  cannot  be  said  to  have  enjoyed  himself 
unless  it  was  when  absorbed  in  listening  to  Peter  Bertrand 
and  other  elderly  male  guests  talk  horse  and  racing  exper- 
iences in  the  comfortable  sitting  room  across  the  front 
entrance  hall  from  the  bar. 

Here  assembled  around  the  open  chimney  fire-place  cer- 
tain of  the  non-dancers  of  the  occasion  which,  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  two-hand  reel,  included  Peter  Bertrand,  and,  with  a 
number  of  other  congenial  spirits  as  well,  no  less  a  per- 
sonage than  Monsieur  Badeeshow,  the  loquacious  judicial 
spokesman  at  the  race  during  the  ati  cirnoon. 

In  the  far  corner  of  the  room  around  a  small  unpainted 
pine  table  lighted  by  a  solitary,  smoky,  coal  oil  lamp  sat 
five  undemonstrative  and  silent  individuals  absorbed  in  a 
game  of  draw  poker  at  "  five-cent  ante.  "  • 

These  consisted  of  the  dapper  and  oleaginous  little  sweat- 
board  faker  of  the  afternoon,  the  solemn,  twinkle-eyed 
Franco- Yankee,  Wheel  of  Fortune  man,  a  dark-eyed  man  of 
sombre,  swarthy  feature,  whom  his  familiars  addressed  as 
"  Denis, "  (and  the  small  faker  as  *'  Mistoo  Goathere, ")  Mr. 
Budd  Doble,  Junior,  otherwise  Dave,  the  driver  of  Crapaud 
in  the  race,  now  keenly  and  soberly  on  the  alert  to  retrieve 
his  losses  on  "  dat  leetle  cbesnut  plug's  "  victory,  and  last 
but  not  by  any  means  least,  a  bald  headed  party  somewhat 
below  the  medium  height  when  he  stood  upon  his  feet,  who 
was  addressed  as  "  Faro "  a  nickname  given  him  by  his 
intimates  in  signification  of  his  partiality  for  games  of 
chance  and  who  was  understood  to  be  the  sportive  pro- 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


225 


prietor  of  the  "Dew  Drop  Inn,"  a  well  known  hostelry, 
situated  on  the  river  bank  down  towards  the  city. 

The  latter  was  manifestly  a  man  of  serenely  good  humor, 
who  possessed  the  faculty  to  a  marked  degree  of  uttering 
facetious  observations  in  a  mixture  of  French  and  English 
jargon  peculiarly  his  own. 

Around  the  card  players  sat  and  stood  a  cordon  of  eager 
lookers-on,  who  were  even  more  silent  than  the  players 
themselves.  The  absorbed  taciturnity  of  this  far  corner 
made  the  not  infrequently  chaotic  conversation  of  the  sitters 
at  and  around  the  table  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  immedi- 
ately before  the  fire-place,  more  conspicuous  than  it  perhaps 
otherwise  would  have  been. 

And  thus  above  the  din  and  discord  of  incoherent  French 
and  English  discussions  there  would  periodically  arise  the 
sonorous  and  authoritative  colloquial  strains  of  the  rotund 
Monsieur  Badeeshow. 

Flushed  with  the  effects  of  good  company  and  the  fumes 
of  congenial  beverages,  that  gentleman  was  now  unbended 
as  far  as  his  wonted  jealous  preservation  of  his  dignity, 
drunk  or  sober,  would  permit,  and  withal  disposed  to  be 
discursively  oracular  upon  any  subject  included  in  the 
repertory  of  his  information  which,  apart  from  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  rules  governing  habitant  horse  races,  chiefly  cen- 
tred itself  in  municipal  politics. 

With  two  grown-up  sons  at  home  to  look  after  the  farm, 
he  had  long  since  become  a  man  of  leisure,  and  for  the  ten 
years  last  past  a  perennial  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the  coun- 
cil of  his  native  municipality. 

He  knew  the  history  and  apparent  cost  of  every  bridge, 

15 


226 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


ditch  and  culvert  within  the  limits  of  the  township  in  which 
he  lived,  and  was  at  any  time  eagerly  prepared  to  join 
issue  with  any  one  who  might  venture  to  dispute  the  wis- 
dom of  any  of  his  votes  in  the  council. 

Much  of  the  evening  in  the  bar  and  sitting  room  had  been 
consumed  by  Councillor  Badeeshow  in  an  animated  discus- 
sion with  several  of  his  quondam  supporters  as  to  the  judic- 
iousness of  his  having  leant  his  vote  and  influence  towards 
the  expenditure  of  certain  county  moneys  in  the  opening 
of  a  certain  new  road. 

In  his  own  estimation  Mr.  B.  had  completely  vindicated 
his  action  in  the  premises,  and  now,  redolent  of  victory  and 
many  incidental  drinks,  he  was  prepared  to  talk  horse,  tell 
a  story  or  join  in  the  chorus  of  U7i  chanson  de  ramme. 

"Ah,  Monsieur  Ratbone,"  he  said  benignly  to  Jack,  as 
that  young  gentleman  edged  up  towards  the  fire-place  in 
sitting  room,  "Ah  hopes  you  was  anjye  yoseff  all  raght, 
monsieur." 

"  Oh,  yes,  thank  you,  Mr.  Badeeshow,  I'm  getting  on  all 
right" 

"  Come  an  took  dees  chair  here,  Monsieur  Jack,  and  talk 
wit  Monsieur  Badeeshow,"  exclaimed  Peter  Bertrand,  as  he 
arose  from  his  seat  near  the  councillor. 

*'  Oh,  no,  no,  Peter,  "  remonstrated  Jack,  "  I'd  prefer  to 
stand  here  with  my  back  to  the  fire,  thank  you.  " 

"  But  weel  you  keep  dees  chair  for  me  for  wan  meeneet, 
see  you  please,  "  appealed  the  other.  "  Ah  wants  to  go  an 
spoke  wit  mah  dautteur,  "  and  he  handed  the  chair  over  to 
Jack  politely. 


BOKDEll  CANUCKS. 


227 


"  All  right  then,"  said  the  latter,  "  I'll  keep  it  until  you 
come  back  if  you're  not  too  long.  " 

"What  you  want  goan  see  yo  dautteur  fo  Pierro?" 
demanded  Mons.  Badeeshow  taking  his  long  clay  pipe  out 
of  his  mouth  and  gazing  up  towards  the  top  of  Mr.  Bert- 
rand's  tall  form,  "  Ah  hopes  you  wus  not  goan  spile  heur 
funl" 

"  Aw,  no,  Ah  doan  want  spile  heur  fun  mais  Ah  doan 
want  lose  mah  fun  some  udder  tarn  needer, "  responded 
Peter  as  he  straightened  himself  up  to  his  full  height  and 
with  both  hands  excavated  his  huge  hunting  case  silver 
watch  from  his  fob  pocket,  and  opening  it,  gazed  upon  its 
veracious  face,  muttering  to  himself  the  while. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  losing  your  fun  some  other  time, 
Peter?  "  enquired  Jack,  settling  himself  in  the  chair  along- 
side Mons.  Badeeshow. 

"  Well,  you  see,"  replied  the  owner  of  "dat  leetle  ches- 
nut  plug,"  as  he  restored  his  watch  to  its  fob,  "eet  was  jews 
lac  dees:  De  las  tam  Ah  wus  to  a  ball  eet  wus  bout  dees 
tam  las  year,  up  to  Stony  Pint,  on  Sateurday  night,  too;  an 
Ah  wus  go  dare  fur  chaperon  an  took  care  of  mah  dautteur, 
jews  de  sam  as  Ah  wus  come  here  dees  evening.  Well,  de 
fokea  at  dat  ball  have  stop  all  de  clock  on  de  house  an 
dance  teel  bout  tree  clock  on  de  morning,  an  mah  dautteur, 
Blanche,  have  dance  wit  it.  Eh  hein!  Ah  have  taught 
nutting  bout  dat  at  de  tam,  an,  een  fac,  Ah  have  nevaire 
taught  nutting  bout  dat  teel  Ah  have  go  to  de  sacristy  of 
our  church  fur  do  mah  Easter  dooty  lass  spring.  Den,  par 
example,  de  pries  have  mac  me  reecollec  dat  all  raght,  Ah'll 
toll  you  I "  and  Mr.  Bertrand  again  put  into  practice  his 


228 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


peculiar  fashion  of  emphasizing  his  meaning  by  compress* 
ing  his  lips  firmly  and  solemnly,  and  slowly  nodding  his 
head  repeatedly. 

"  But  the  priest  was  not  at  the  ball,  was  he,  Peter?  "  asked 
Jack. 

"  Aw,  no,  de  pries  wus  not  at  de  ball,  fur  sure,"  with  a 
smile  at  Jack's  lack  of  sophistry. 

"  Well  then  how  did  he  come  to  know  what  went  on  there 
then  Peter?" 

"  How  deed  de  pries  know  what's  go  on  at  dat  ball  ?** 
asked  Mr.  Bertrand  in  tones  of  withering  pity  for  Jack's 
ignorance  of  the  cure's  all-pervading  knowledge  of  what 
transpired  in  the  parish,  "  why  av  course  de  pries  know 
every  ting  what's  go  on- on  de/)arowstf." 

"  But  you  did  not  dance  yourself,  did  you  Peter  ?"  queried 
Jack,  "  I  remember  that  you  told  me  that  the  two-hand 
reel  you  had  with  Widow  Martin  this  evening  was  the  first 
time  you  had  danced  in  ten  years." 

"  Yas,  an  dat  wus  a  fac  too,  but  you  see  de  pries  have 
say  dat  Ah  have  do  wuss  dan  eef  Ah  have  dance  on  Sun- 
day morning  meseff!  Ah  have  'low  mah  eenocent  chile 
which  Ah  have  go  to  dat  ball  een  de  cappasseetay  of  heur 
faddeur  an  fur  took  care  of  heur  to  dance  afteur  twelve 
o'clock  Satuerday  night  an  dat  wus  wuss  dan  eef  Ah  have 
do  dat  meseff!  An  so,  par  cowsee^once," continued  Mr.  Bert- 
rand authoritatively,  as  he  pulled  down  his  waistcoat  and 
brushed  off  the  lappels  of  his  frock  coat  with  the  palm  of 
his  right  hand,  "  Mon  pere  have  say  dat  Ah  wus  rayspon' 
sayble  fur  dot." 


BOKDEU  CANUCKS. 


229 


"Aw,  yas,  for  sure  you  wus  !"  oracularly  assented  Mons. 

Badeeshow   with   confirmatory  nods  of  his  partially  bald 

head,  and  a  judicial  air,  "you  wus  raysponsible  for  dat  an 

'"lepose  you  have  git  i)ooty  good  beeg  penncetannce  too, 

eni*    Dee'nt  you,  Pierro?  * 

"  Well,  you  could  jews  bet  yo  laf  Ah  have  got  beeg  pen- 
neetannce  for  dat!  "  exclaimed  Peter,  solemnly  nodding  his 
head  as  he  sidled  towards  the  door.  "Ah  have  crawl  roun 
de  chuch  on  mah  han  an  knee  tree  tam  an  raypate  tree 
chaplet  at  every  station !  dat'a  what  wus  mah  penncetannce 
fur  leave  mah  dautteur  dance  afteur  twelve  o'clock  on  Sat- 
eurday  naght,  an  Ah  wus  not  very  ankshus  fur  do  dat  agin, 
Ah'll  toll  yu!  So  Ah  guess  Ah  goan  do  mah  dooty  di^cs 
tam,"  and  Mr.  Bertrand  bowed  his  Herculean  frame  through 
+  door  on  his  way  to  the  dancing  room  to  enjoin  Blanche, 
'aughter,  from  shaking  her  foot  after  twelve  o'clock. 


■%^\  |j 


TY 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Little  Theology  and  a  "Pat  Hand." 

AS  YOU  Cattiiloeck,  Monsieur  Riitbone?"'  asked 
Mr.  Biidcoshow  of  Jiick,  after  Peter's  departure 
from  the  sitting  room. 

"No,  I  go  to  tiie  English  Episcopal  church." 

"Aw,  you  WHS  Aiigleech  Pecscoi)al,  ay?  Well,  Ah 
have  hcerd  dat  dat  releejohn  wus  mo  lac  our  chuch  dan  any 
of  de  udder  wan  wus,  aint  ect?" 

"Yea,  I  fancy  what  is  known  as  tlie  ritualistic  or  high 
church  section  of  the  English  Episcopalians  are  more  like 
Roman  Catholics  in  their  methods  of  worshi[)  and  observ- 
ances generally  than  any  other  Protestant  faith  is." 

"  Den  you  wus  divide  mongst  yousefT,  ay  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  don't  think  we  all  thirdv  alike,  and  I  know  we 
don't  all  say  our  prayers  or  worship  God  alike." 

"An  none  of  yous  go  to  confess,  ay?  "  queried  Mr.  Bad- 
eeshow,  lowering  his  voice  to  a  stage  whis[)er  as  he  removed 
his  long  clay  pipe  from  his  mouth  and  expectorated  upon 
the  glowing  log  fire-place. 

"No,"  replied  Jack,  "  I  don't  think  that  even  the  high 
church  ritualists  in  our  church  have  gotten  as  far  as  con- 
fession yet." 

"Well,  Monsieur  Ratbone,  Ah  goan  toll  you  dees,  an 
Ah  hopes  you  wus  not  goan  be  mad  wit  me  when  Ah'll 
toll  ycu,"  said  Mr.  Badeeshow,  as  he  bended  over  to  secure 

(231) 


I'! 


232 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


the  fire  tongs  to  procure  a  coal  from  tbe  fire  to  relight  his 
pipe  with. 

"No,  no,  Mr.  Badeeshow,"  replied  Jack,  "I  never  get 
mad  with  anybody  because  of  his  religious  opinions." 

"  Well,  den,  Ah  goan  geef  you  mah  opeenj'on  bout  dat,'' 
observed  the  obese  councillor  between  vigorous  draws  at 
his  pipe  as  he  pressed  down  the  glowing  coal  on  the  top 
thereof  with  the  index  finger  of  his  right  hand.  "Wheres 
an  releejohn  have  no  confesshun  dey  coon't  have  no  raglit 
kin  of  peneetannce,  and  suepose  dey  doan  have  no  raght 
kin  of  peneetannce  an  no  confesshun  dey  coon't  have  no 
deeceepleen  mongstdem!  An  suepose  dey  doan  have  no 
deeceepleen  mongst  dem  dey  coon't  have  no  releejohn 
wheres  all  de  fokes  tinks  alike  an  do  jews  de  sam  tings  wit 
un  esprit  de  corps  an  honhomie!^^  and  further  dropping  into 
French,  with  a  shrug  of  his  huge  shoulders,  he  continued : 
"  Ce  mon  opinion  ton  jours  mon  tres  cher  ami  /  " 

"  Well  perhaps  you're  right,"  complacently  assented  Jack, 
"confession  and  penance  may  be  well  in  the  interest  of  dis- 
cipline and  consequent  harmony  of  action  in  any  given 
church,  and  I  have  even  sometimes  had  my  doubts  whether 
or  not  it  is  not  best  that  the  church  should  think  for  the 
people  rather  than  that  the  people  should  think  for  the 
church." 

"Sartainly  eet  ees!"  assented  Mr.  Badeeshow  with 
alacrity,  taking  the  pipe  out  of  his  mouth,  "you  see  eet  ees 
jews  lac  dees  wit  de  protestans,  every  man  wus  fur  heem- 
sef  an  wus  tink  fur  heemsef  an  every  mans  wus  try  to  got 
to  heaven  on  hees  own  h(^ok  I  But  wit  us  Cattaleeck  eet  wus 
deeferent  ting,  par  example  I  Eef   we  doan  got  to  heaven 


tr 

ai 
wl 
all 
jJ 

u 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


233 


-r 


trough  de  chucli  we  cloan  got  dare  at  all.  Eef  we  doan  got 
a  teecat  ou  cairteefeccat  from  hour  pries  ou  beesliop  dare 
wus  no  use  fur  try,  we  coo'nt  got  to  de  good  plasse — 
aldough  sum  ses  we  might  possihlement  got  half  ways  dare! 
Mais  fur  mah  part  Ahcoo'n't  say  nutting  bout  dat.  Well, 
how  we  wusgoan  got  dat  teecat oi*  cairteefeecat?"  demanded 
Mr.  BaJeeshow  forensically  extending  his  fat  hands,  palms 
upwards,  and  gazing  at  Jack  benignantly.  The  latter, 
however,  seemed  so  utterly  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of 
pictures  in  the  fire  that  he  made  no  answer.  "  "We  muss  go 
to  confess!"  continued  the  councillor  oracularly  after  a  short 
pause.  "We  muss  do  peneetance  for  our  seen!  We  muss 
faire  le  chemin  de  crois  lac  Pierro  Bertrand  have  do !  We 
muss  be  wortay  of  absolution!  We  muss  took  absolution! 
We  muss  took  de  sacremaw !  An  den  suepose  a  mans  wus 
fur  die  right  away  queeck  aftaire  he  have  do  all  dat,  well  1" 
continued  Mr.  Badeeshow  soliloquizingly  contemplating 
the  fire,  "  Ah  tink  he  would  stan  pootay  good  show  fur  be 
a  angel  mongst  de  bless  wans  what  wus  een  heaven!  Dat's 
what  Ah  tink  fur  mah  part,"  and  he  arose  from  his  seat 
with  satisfied  mien  and,  approaching  the  fire,  cast  therein 
from  out  his  pipe  the  coal  which  had  now  amply  served  its 
purpose. 

Meanwhile  the  silent  division  in  the  far  corner  pursued 
the  fluctuating  tenor  of  its  way  with  that  beguiling  pre- 
occupation peculiar  to  players  of  poker  at  "five-cent  ante" 
with  frequently  recurring  "Jack  Pots"  as  an  important 
feature  thereof. 

It  was  amazing  how  often  the  bejewelled  little  chuck-a- 
luck  faker  with  a  rashness,  not  to  say  recklessness,  rarely 


234 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


Mr..' 


manifested  in  one  of  his  profession  at  games  of  chance^ 
would  open  these  "Jack  Pots  "  with. a  bet  of  two  dollars — 
the  highest  limit  of  the  game. 

But  these  oft  repeated  efforts  to  capture  the  stakes  more 
frequently  resulted  in  loss  than  gain  to  the  opener  and  in 
fact  his  efforts  in  this  direction  as  a  whole  was  a  veritable 
case  of  the  biter  bitten. 

Mons.  Goathere  and  the  sportive  proprietor  of  the  Dew 
Drop  Inn  would  generally  "stay  in"  with  the  opener  and  at 
the  come  out,  after  the  draw,  "raise  him  out  of  his  boots," 
as  the  dapper  little  man  himself  graphically  expressed  it. 

"If  this  thing  can  only  last  long  enough,"  observed  the 
Dew  Drop's  proprietor  to  Mons.  Goathere  in  French,  as  the 
latter  deftly  shuffled  and  dealt  the  cards,  "  we'll  get  that 
diamond  in  his  shirt  front  and  that  long  watch  chain.  My 
wife's  been  bothering  me  about  getting  her  a  diamond 
lately,  and  I  think  that  one  would  just  suit  her,  if  it's  not 
glass.  I'll  use  the  chain  for  hauling  logs  for  the  balance  of 
the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  I'll  brush  it  up,  buy  a  sweat- 
board  and  follow  the  races  with  it  to  catch  suckers  with." 

"See  here,  Faro !"  exclaimed  the  individual  alluded  to, 
"talk  white!"  This  game  is  slick  enough  without  back- 
capping  a  fellow  with  that  French  lingo  of  yours." 

"I  wasn't  sayin  nutting  bout  de  game,"  seriously  replied 
the  proprietor  of  the  Dew  Drop;  "I  was  only  jews  tellin 
Denis  bout  some  log  I  want  to  geet  out  of  de  bush  dis 
win  tour." 

"  Well,  talk  logs  in  French  some  other  time ;  we're  play- 
ing poker  in  English  now." 


i    ! 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


235 


Iplied 

Itelliu 
(lis 

Iplay- 


"  Aw,  yes,  by  jlminy,  we  air  playin  pokar,  aint  we  ?  But, 
you  see,  Aii  don't  unstan  Anglish  verrah  well." 

"No,  it's  a  pity  about  you,"  solemnly  drawled  the  wbeel- 
of-fortune  man,  upon  whose  lantern-jawed  countenance 
great  beads  of  perspiration  glistened  in  the  lamp  light. 
"  It's  a  pity  the  Ontario  government  didn't  start  an  English 
school  in  this  ere  French  settlement!  Ef  poker  was  made 
one  of  the  subjects  of  instruction  in  that  ere  school  and  you 
was  an  attendin'  pew  pill,  I'd  bet  a  ten-dollar  bill  to  a  roast 
peanut  that  you'd  know  enough  English  by  the  end  of  the 
fust  month  to  beat  the  school  master  out  of  his  year's  salary ! 
How  many  chips  did  you  shove  up,  Dave  ?  " 

"  Ah've  got  up  twenty-fave  cen  bline,"  replied  the  driver 
of  Crapaud,  upon  whom,  judging  from  the  number  of  chips 
and  currency  before  him,  Dame  Fortune  had,  to  some 
extent,  smiled. 

"Well,  David,  I'll  stay  with  the  blind  a  spell,  jest  out 
o'  compliment  to  you." 

"Tank  you;  tank  you,  Doc." 

"  An  I'll  do  de  sam,  Dave, '  blandly  observed  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Dew  Drop,  as  he  put  up  his  ten  chips.  '  Ah'm 
always  stickin  mah  nose  where  I've  got  no  business." 

"I  guess  I'll  give  you  a  whirl  at  business  myself  this 
time,  my  friend,"  insinuatingly  remarked  the  knight  of  the 
sweat  board.  "I'll  just  see  the  blind  and  raise  it  the  limit 
—  a  couple  of  cases." 

"  And  I'll  stay  out  of  such  rich  company  this  time,  I 
guess,"  slowly  and  Jiesitatingly  said  Mr.  Goathere,  the 
dealer,  as  he  apparently  reluctantly  restored  his  cards  to 
the  bottom  of  the  pack  he  held  in  his  left  hand. 


236 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


*'  An  Ah  guess  Ah  goan  jump  hoff  de  fiel  too,"  mum- 
bled Dauveed  to  himself  reflectively,  as  he  finally  ran  his 
cards  over  before  throwing  up  his  hand,  "de  compagnie  ees 
too  fass  fur  dees  picters  Ah  guess." 

"  So  you  didn't  have  em  Dave,  and  couldn't  stand  the  raise, 
ay  ?"  reflectively  drawled  the  long  drawn  faker.  "  Well ! 
I  reckon  your  hand  is  as  good  as  this  ere  one  is,"  he  con- 
tinued as  he  slowly  and  deliberately  ran  his  cards  over, 
"  and  I  presume  I  orter  to  quit  too — but  by  goll !  I  won't, 
though!  I'll  jess  chance  a  two-dollar  bill  on  the  draw,"  and 
he  placed  that  sum  in  the  centre  of  the  table  with  the  rest 
of  the  stakes. 

"It's  all  in  de  draw,  ain't  it  Doc?"  queried  Faro  as  he 
stealthily  peeked  at  his  hand. 

"  "Well  sir,  I  ain't  exactly  settled  on  that  pint;  but  I  kin 
say  that  'draw'  is  this  kind  of  poker's  fust  name. " 

"Any  how,  Doctor,  I  guess  I'll  keep  you  company  dis 
time.  I'm  a  little  winner  an  kin  lose  two  dollars  just  'like 
a  chicken  on  de  doe,'  as  ole  John  Curry  use  to  say ;  mine's 
up,  "  and  two  dollars  more  were  added  to  the  pot  before  the 
draw. 

"  How  many  cards  do  you  want  Doc  ?"  now  demanded 
Mr.  Goathere  of  that  eccentric  speculator. 
"Well,  I  guess  I'll  take  one  this  time,"  doubtfully  drawled 
the  latter  as  he  held  his  cards  between  his  hands  high  up, 
leaning  his  elbows  upon  the  table. 

"  Be  sure  an  take  all  you  want  Doc,"  suggested  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Dew  Drop. 

"Thanks I   Thanks,  Mr.  Faro!  solemnly  responded  the 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


237 


faker.  "Thanks,  sir!  Small  favors  are  always  thankfully 
received  at  this  department." 

"  Comment  voulez  vous  Faro  ?"  asked  the  dealer. 

"Here  now !"  interpolated  the  cliuck-a-luck  gentleman. 
"  None  of  that  1  Come  off  that  dark  language !" 

"Well  then  how  many  cards  do  you  want  Faro?" 
repeated  the  dealer  with  a  suspicious  twinkle  in  his  bright 
brown  eyes. 

"  I  tink  I  want  two  dis  time  ef  I  ain't  making  a  fool  of 
meself  an  not  drawin  enough,"  observed  the  worthy  pro- 
prietor of  the  Dew  Drop,  as  he  discarded  and  coolly  put  his 
right  hand,  containing  the  three  cards  he  held  up  over  the 
two  the  dealer  had  just  dealt  him  while  with  his  left  hand 
he  absorbedly  proceeded  to  arrange  the  solitary,  long  lock 
of  blonde  hair  which,  eminating  from  a  point  immediately 
behind  the  right  ear,  was  carefully  plastered  diagonally 
across  his  hairless,  oval  pate  until  it  reached  a  point  near  to 
the  lobe  of  the  left  ear  when  it  became  lost  amidst  a  lan- 
guishing growth  of  tow  like  fringe  which  ornamented  the 
base  of  a  rather  striking  looking  head. 

In  short,  the  tout  ensemble  of  this  facetious  and  hospitable 
boniface's  headpiece  might  have  been  likened  unto  that  of 
a  typical  mediaeval  monk. 

But  this  was  as  far  as  sacerdotal  or  monastic  association 
went  with  Faro's  head. 

Its  inner  organization  would  be  found  replete  with  utili- 
tarian materialism  (if  such  an  expression  may  be  permitted 
for  the  occasion ),  while  the  same  was  pervaded  by  an 
ineffable  sense  of  the  ridiculous,  and  withal  a  quixotic 
generosity. 


I'l 


•V: 


238 


BOBDEB  CANUCKS. 


"  And  how  many  cards  do  you  want,  my  friend  ? " 
enquired  the  dealer,  addressing  the  little  sweat  board  faker. 

"  I  guess  I'll  keep  what  I've  got  this  time,"  was  the  mild 
and  unconcerned  answer. 

"  Whew ! "  exclaimed  the  wheel  of  fortune  doctor ; 
"  you've  got  'em  bad  this  time,  aint  you,  sonny  ?  Standin' 
pat  at  this  embarrassin  stage  of  the  game  I  " 

"What  kind  of  a  game  you  givin*  us  now,  stranger?" 
asked  the  proprietor  of  the  Dew  Drop,  as  he  cautiously 
peeped  at  the  two  cards  he  had  just  drawn. 

"  I'm  trying  to  give  you  back  one  of  the  bluffs  you've  run 
me  out  several  times  with  this  evening.'* 

"  Well,  all  right,  make  your  bets  then,  gents,**  solemnly 
interpolated  the  doctor.  "It's  my  age  and  your  first  bet, 
Mr.  Dew  Drop  Inn." 

"  Very  well ;  I  guess  I  goan  chance  a  chip  against  the 
pat  hand." 

"And  I'll  chance  two  dollars  and  a  chip  on  the  pat 
hand,"  subduedly  observed  the  little  faker. 

"Wall,  now,  that's  corain'  rather  brash  at  a  feller,  aint  it, 
sonny?"  queried  the  doctor,  as  he  ruminatingly  rolled  his 
quid  of  tobacco  from  one  side  of  his  mouth  to  the  other 
and  carefully  ran  his  cards  over  again.  "  Hope  that  air  pat 
hand  aint  threwn  your  jedgment  off  its  ke-base,  sonny,  old 
boy !  '* 

"  Never  you  mind  about  my  judgment,"  moodily  observed 
the  dapper  one,  as  he  settled  his  face  between  his  uplifted 
hands,  while  he  rested  his  elbows  upon  the  table.  "Go 
right  ahead  and  make  your  bet  if  you're  going  to.  Fish  or 
cut  bait ;  put  up  or  shut  up  |  " 


•-■ -r 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


239 


"Fish  or  cut  bait ;  put  up  or  shut  up,"  solemnly  repeated 
the  knight  of  fortune's  wheel,  as  he  preoccupiedly  gazed  at 
his  hand.  "  That's  what  this  smart  and  gentlemanly  little 
sportin'  sonny  from  the  metropolis  tells  me  I  must  do.  Fish 
or  cut  bait!  Put  up  or  shut  up!  I  wonder  what  my 
sonny  friend  takes  me  for?  Jay  Gould,  Jim  Keene  or 
some  sich  a  pampered  capitalist,  I'll  bet." 

"Oh,  go  on,  will  you,  and  don't  make  such  a  damn  fool 
of  yourself!  "  angrily  exclaimed  the  holder  of  the  pat  hand. 

"  Well  now,  sonny,  you  have  jest  succeeded  in  com- 
pellin'  me  to  see  your  raise,"  drawled  the  doctor,  with 
imperturbable  countenance,  "  and  goin'  you  jest  a  leetle  two 
dollars  better  out  of  consarn  for  your  politeness  and 
patience." 

"  Well,  then,  put  your  money  up  I "  snapped  the  bejeweled 
one. 

"  That's  all  right,  sonny  I  Just  you  keep  your  shirt  on, 
please!  I'll  put  my  money  up  all  right  enough  you  bet! 
Four  dollars  and  a  check  ain't  it  ?  and  there  it  is  right  in 
the  pot.  A  monstrous  pile  to  bet  agin  a  pat  hand  in  this 
ere  bass  wood  kind  of  a  game,  ain't  it?  And  now  Mr.  Dew 
Drop  what  air  you  going  to  do  about  it  ?" 

"  What  I  goan  do  bout  it  ?  Well,  I  ain't  goan  let  you 
ruin  me  on  one  hand  if  I  kin  help  it,  dat's  sure  ting!  Let 
me  see  what  I  got  here !"  and  he  cautiously  and  carefully 
inspected  the  corners  of  his  cards,  which  by  holding  in  the 
palm  of  his  left  hand  he  enveloped  from  the  gaze  of  all  on- 
lookers. "  Well,  bah  gosh !"  he  continued  after  a  short 
pause,  "  I'll  be  dang  eef  I  doan  stay  too !  I'm  always  doin 
some  dam  foolish  ting  anyways  1  I  couldn't  quit  ahead 


7i 

y 


240 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


unless  some  one  sets  fire  to  de  house  right  off !  Here's  my 
four  dollars  1"  and  he  recklessly  shoved  four  silver  dollars 
up  to  the  centre  of  the  table  as  if  he  were  desparately  giving 
them  away. 

"  How  about  supper  Dave  ?  Is  the  old  woman  going  to 
give  us  anything  to  eat  to-night  for  our  seventy -five  cents?'' 
enquired  Mr.  Goathere  of  the  driver  of  Crapaud. 

"Aw,  yas,  Ah  guess  so.  Ah  nevaire  see  nobody  go  way 
from  dees  house  hungray  yit.  We  goan  got  sum  tuckey, 
an  goose,  an  shicken,  an  couchon  de  lait,  an  all  what  you  want 
presenlay,  you  see." 

"Well,  I'll  see  the  raise  in  the  meantime,  "  observed  the 
chuck-a-luck  knight  after  a  short  pause,  during  which  he 
carefully  and  thoughtfully  inspected  his  cards  again.  "  I've 
got  to  put  up  four  dollars  I  reckon,  haven't  I?" 

"  That's  precisely  what  you've  got  to  do,  sonny,  to  make 
your  word  good,"  sepulchrally  assented  the  doctor,  "  and 
that,"  he  continued,  "  is  the  amount  to  a  knock  down  you've 
jest  put  in  the  pot  all  far  and  squar  and  keerect  as  a  axiom ! 
And  now  I  presume  you're  countin'  on  me  playin  sucker 
and  stayin'  in  with  you !  Well,  by  jehosaphat  I  but  it 
would  be  shockin  mean  to  lose  that  ere  six  dollars  and  fifty- 
five  cents  I've  got  in  that  ^re  pot  a'ready  without  a 
struggle  I  My  jedgement,"  he  went  on  ruminatingly  "  says 
stay  out.  Don't  send  good  money  after  bad.  While  my 
spunk  says  stay  in,  the  Lord  hates  a  coward  I  Well,  I  guess 
spunk  takes  the  cake  most  every  time  with  this  chicken — 
specially  when  it  doan  take  more'n  two  dollars  extray  to 
stay  into  a  sixteen-dollar  pot !  So  here's  my  two  dollars 
gents  I  Let  her  flicker !" 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


241 


"You  don't  raise  her  den,  Doc?"  enquired  the  Dew 
Drop's  proprietor  with  affected  indifference,  mingled  with 
surprise. 

"No,  sir,  I  leave  that  fur  you  to  do  ef  you've  got  the 
gaul  or  the  keerds  to  do  it  with.  For  my  part  I  simply 
calls,"  drawlingly  assented  the  Doctor,  simultaneously 
exuding  a  huge  splash  of  tobacco  juice  into  a  convenient 
and  capacious  earthenware  cuspidor. 

"  Well,  den,  by  gosh,  I  guess  I  goan  be  just  dang  fool 
enough  to  raise  her  meself  I  Here's  my  two  dollars  to  make 
it  good,  and  here's  the  two-dollar  raise  I  That's  the  kin  of  a 
Frenchman  I  am,  by  golly  1" 

"  Well,  I  reckon  you  must  have  filled  that  hand  of  yours," 
remarked  the  small  faker  meditatively,  "  I  have  never 
caught  you  making  a  drive  or  a  bluff  to-night  and  I  have 
watched  you  pretty  close — but  I  must  raise  you  on  principle 
this  time,  anyway  ;  here  she  is,"  and  he  added  four  dollars 
to  the  pile  of  chips  and  money  in  the  middle  of  the  table, 
making  the  amount  approximate  twenty-five  dollars,  or 
thereabouts. 

"He's  a'stickin'  to  that  'ere  pat  I  He's  got  'em  all  right 
enough,  I  should  jedge,"  soliloquized  the  doctor  in  a  voice 
scarcely  audible  across  the  table.  "  I  wonder  what  she 
is  ?  "  he  queried  to  himself.  "  Ef  she's  a  reasonable  sized 
flush,  I'd  stay;  ef  she's  a  moderate  sized  straight,  I'd 
still  wrestle  with  the  enemy;  but  ef  she's  a  full  of  any 
kind,  why,  I'd  have  to  pause  and  think  about  it,  and  that's 
what  I'm  a'doin'  now,"  and  again  the  earthenware  cuspidor 
was  made  the  receptacle  of  a  copious  splash  of  tobacco  juice, 

16 


m 


i 

1 


242 


liOUDEU  CANLCKS. 


while  his  cards  were  held  in  both  hands  outstretched  on  a 
level  with  his  face. 

"Well,  don't  be  all  night  making  up  your  mind  !  Play 
cards  1"  impatiently  exclaimed  he  with  the  "pat  hand." 

"Keep  your  seat,  sonny,  keep  your  seat!"  solemnly 
enjoined  the  doctor,  as  he  continued  to  absorbedly  gii/o 
upon  his  still  uplifted  cards;  "your  anxious  bussum  will 
be  chock  full  of  anguish  a'fore  you  git  through  with  this 
'ere  hand,  or  I'm  no  proi)het !  " 

"You're  acting  like  a  bloody  fool  just  now,  that's  what  I 
know  I  "and  the  bejewelcd  and  dapper  little  man  impa- 
tiently turned  in  his  scat  half  way  around  from  the  tabic, 
resting  his  face  upon  the  palm  of  his  unoccupied  hand, 
with  elbow  on  the  table,  while  he  watched  his  adversaries 
from  the  corners  of  his  eyes  with  a  scowl  upon  his  not 
uncomely  countenance. 

"Well,  now,"  preoccupiedly  drawled  the  doctor,  as  he 
continued  to  gaze  upon  his  still  uplifted  hand  of  cards, 
"that's  rayther  tough   talk,  I   must  say.     Call  a  man  a 
'bloody  fool  all  of  a  suddent  like!    Well,  sonny,  I  aint  a  bit 
annyed  at  you,  but  I'll  jest  make  that  'ere  honored  titlr 
good  by  stayin'  with  you  another  whirl  for  blood.     The 
Lord  helps  a  fool  and  tem])ers  the  wined  to  the  woollcsi- 
sheep,  or  some  sicli  a  matter ;  I  don't  jess  now  recommcn 
bar  how  the  sayin'  is  worded — but  here's  my  two  dolhn 
agin  that  'ere  pat  hand  and  all  comers,  anyhow,"  and  h' 
slowly  and  deliberately  placed  a  two-dollar  bill  on  the  fat 
tening  pile  in  the  centre  of  the  table. 

"An'  now  it's  my  turn  for  some  remarks,  I  guess,"  sa 


BOIIDER  CANUCKS. 


243 


the  Dew  Drop's  boniface  as  ho  peeked  at  the  figures  in  the 
corners  of  his  cards. 

'Leave  the  remarks  to  the  doctor,"  suggested  the  holder 
of  the  "  pat  liund  '' ;  "  that's  his  best  lioUl.  You  can  bet  or 
draw  out.  It  costs  you  four  dollars  to  stay  and  nothing  to 
draw  out" 

"Nutting  to  draw  out,"  meditatively  repeated  the  Dew 
Drop's  landlord  ;  "  nutting  to  draw  out!  \V(!ll,  dat's  cheap 
enough,  anyhow ;  but  de  Lord  hates  a  coward — aint  dat 
what  you  said  jess  now,  Doc?  " 

"  Kcercct  as  a  axiom,  sir.     That's  "what  I  said." 

"  Well,  den,  I  guess  I  goan  squander  'bout  four  dollars 
more  so's  to  show  the  French  aint  no  coward." 

"What  do  you  mean?  "  asked  the  little  faker,  straight- 
ening himself  up  to  the  table.  "  You  raise  it  two  dollars, 
do  you  ?  " 

"  Dat's  -what  I  calcalate  to  do." 

"  Well,  see  here  I  "  exclaimed  the  holder  of  the  "  pat 
hand,"  "  will  you  agree  to  set  aside  the  two-dollar  limit 
rule  and  let  me  bet  what  I  like  ?  " 

"  I  suepose  a  man's  always  got  a  show  for  his  money, 
aint  he?"  ' 

"  Why,  to  be  sartainly  he's  got  a  show  for  liis  money  at 
any  stage  of  the  game,"  drawled  the  doctor  assuringly. 

"Well,  what  do  you  say,  Doc?  Shall  we  bet  outside 
Ifee  limit  this  once  ?  " 

"  Jest  a^  you're  a  mind  to,  sonny.  Anything  for  peace 
ar  i  harmony  is  alius  my  motto." 

"  And  do  you  agree,  Faro  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  care  if  Doc  doesn't.     Jila's  of  course  if 


I  f 


♦  i 


244 


PORDER  CANUCKS. 


you  oversize  a  man's  pile  he's  got  de  right  to  call  you  for 
what  he's  got,  aint  he  ?  " 

"  Of  course  he  has,"  patronizingly  replied  the  dapper  one. 

"  "Well,  den,  go  ahead  and  bet  yo'  bet." 

"  All  right,  I'll  raise  her  fifty,  then,"  said  the  holder  of 
the  pat  hand.  "  That'll  be  fifty-two  dollars  I've  got  to 
put  up." 

"  Yes,  sonny,  that's  the  amount  you  must  bid  adieu  to," 
assented  the  wheel  of  fortune's  proprietor,  solemnly. 

"  Well,  I'll  run  my  chances  on  bidding  adieu  to  it," 
replied  the  other  banteringly,  as  he  pulled  the  five  twenty- 
dollar  gold  pieces,  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  out  of 
his  trousers*  pocket  and  placing  three  of  them  on  the  pile 
drew  down  eight  dollars. 

This  was  the  largest  bet  of  the  evening. 

The  onlookers  who  encircled  the  table  several  tiers  deep 
were  hushed  into  palpitating  silence  and  spellbound  with 
overwhelming  excitement. 

The  small  faker  was  the  cynosure  of  many  an  awe- 
stricken  eye,  while  the  serio-comic  wheel  of  fortune  specu- 
lator, as  he  demonstratively  worked  his  jaws  in  the  process 
of  tobacco  chewing  and  gazed  with  wrapped  absorption 
upon  his  uplifted  cards,  presented  a  picture  of  those  mingled 
manifestations  of  failing  confidence,  doubt  and  regret,  only 
to  be  seen  at  a  poker  table. 

"  Well,  sonny,  said  the  latter  slowly  and  solemnly,  "  ef 
you  think  you're  skeering  this  'ere  unsophisticated  child  of 
nater  by  flashin*  that  'ere  gold  at  him,  you're  wrong! 
You're  way  off!     'Taint  me  that's  skeered,  sonny;  it's 


-^ 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


2rt5 


these  'ere  keerds.  They  aint  quite  stout  and  robust  enough 
to  stand  the  pressure." 

"Well,  lay  them  down,  then,"  suggested  Mr.  Goathere, 
the  dealer;  "Hand  them  over  here." 

"No,  sir,  I  guess  I'll  jest  keep  *em  whar  they  air  for  a 
minute.  They're  terrible  good  lookers,  though  they  can't 
stand  the  raise.     I  pass,  gents." 

And  now  there  was  a  whispered  buzz  of  comment 
throi-qhout  the  growing  crowd  of  onlookers,  some  of  whom, 
accepting  it  as  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  proprietor  of 
the  Dew  Drop  inn  would  never  call  the  raise  of  so  large  a 
sum  as  fifty  dollars,  turned  away  in  relief  from  the  table. 

Several  of  the  more  excited  gave  vent  to  their  bottled-up 
feelings  by  commenting  admiringly  in  undertones  upon  the 
pluck  and  sangfroid  exhibited  by  the  dapper  little  chuck-a- 
luck  operator. 

This  last  raise,  in  the  estimation  of  a  large  majority  of 
the  lookers-on,  would  surely  knock  out  the  bald-headed 
boniface.  - 

But  in  this  they  miscalculated. 

"  By  gosh  !  "  he  soliloquizingly  exclaimed,  going  through 
the  form  of  again  slyly  inspecting  his  card'j,  which  he  held 
in  the  outstretched  palm  of  his  left  hand.  "I  guess  you 
goan  ruin  me  before  you  git  trough.  But  I'll  die  like  a 
game  Frenchman  eef  I've  got  to!  "  and  laying  down  his 
cards,  backs  upwards,  he  picked  up  th(*  shabby,  old  pocket- 
book,  which  lay  on  the  table  before  him,  and  taking  out  the 
notes  it  contained,  he  proceeded  to  carefully  count  them 
over.  This  done,  he  deposited  the  entire  sum  upon  the  rest 
of  the  pile  in  the  middle  of  the  table. 


■'■I  :. 


246 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"  There,  "  lie  said  with  a  perceptible  quiver  of  excitement 
in  his  voice,  "  there  is  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  1  I  raise 
it  a  hundred  I" 

A  considerable  proportion  of  the  gaping  crowd  became 
absolutely  frightened  at  this. 

Never  had  they  dreamed  that  the  world  contained  such 
recklessly  extravagant  idiots  as  these  two  players  were 
showing  themselves  to  be. 

One  could  have  heard  the  proverbial  pin  drop — the  only 
audible  voice  in  the  room  being  the  scarcely  mellifluous 
organ  of  Monsieur  Badeeshow  in  the  concluding  sentences 
of  his  theological  dissertation  for  the  benefit  of  Jack  Rath- 
bone,  who  sat  beside  him  before  the  chimney  fire-place 
gazing  intently  a.id  abstractedly  thereupon. 

When  the  orimilar  councillor  lapsed  into  silence  the 
suppressed  excite nent  at  and  about  the  players*  table 
became  so  apparent  that  Jack's  attention  was  distracted 
from  the  pictures  in  the  fire  and  he  and  the  voluble 
municipal  legislator,  as  if  by  tacit  consent,  arose  from  their 
seats  and  joined  the  silently  perturbed  crowd  by  standing 
on  their  tip  toes  on  the  outside  edge  thereof  and  craning 
over  the  intervening  heads  in  an  effort  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
what  the  cause  of  all  the  excitement  at  the  table  was. 

The  little  faker,  as  if  ta  reassure  himself  of  the  strength  of 
his  hand  again  stealthily  peeked  at  the  diminutive  denomi- 
nations imprinted  upon  the  corners  of  his  cards  which  he 
cautiously  held  in  his  two  hands  joined  together. 

"You  raise  me  one  hundred  dollars,  do  you?"  he  said 
preoccupiedly  intent  upon  his  hand.  "Then,  I  reckon, 
you  must  have  filled.     Well,  I  can't  help  it  if  you  have. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


247 


I'll  try  to  call  you  if  it  busts  me  !  Here,  I'll  put  up  these 
two  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  and  this  pin,  wliich  is  worth 
three  times  the  amount,  for  sixty,  and  call  you,  if  it's  the 
last  thing  I  ever  do  !  "  and  he  unscrewed  the  solitaire  from 
his  shirt  front  and  laid  it  before  him  on  the  table. 

"  now  much  you  say  yo'  pin  is  wurt  ?  ''  enquired  Faro, 
taking  it  up  and  inspecting  it  closely. 

"It  cost  me  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars;  but,  of 
course,  I  reserve  the  privilege  of  redeeming  it  from  you  for 
sixty." 

"  Well,"  observed  the  proprietor  of  the  Dew  Drop,  lay- 
ing the  jewel  back  upon  the  table,  "  I'll  take  your  word  for 
it  and  give  you  a  show  for  your  money." 

'•It's  a  go,  then?"  . 

*' Yes,  she's  a  go." 

"  What  have  you  got?     It's  your  first  show  down ;  I  call 

you." 

"  Four  kings." 

"  Good  hand  if  you've  got  'em,"  assented  the  dapper  little 
man,  seemingly  altogether  self-possessed  and  unruffled. 

"  Dare  dey  are,"  and  the  bald  headed  boniface  turned 
over  his  cards,  which  showed  four  kings  and  an  ace. 

"That  beats  four  Jacks,"  obsevv*  ''  the  faker.  "  It's  your 
money  and  sixty  dollars  in  the  pin.  and,  as  he  turned  over 
his  cards  displaying  four  knaves  and  a  queen,  he  con- 
tinued: "I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do  with  you,  Faro.  Give 
me  fifty  dollars  and  you  can  have  the  pin  cut  and  out." 

"  Well,"  replied  the  other,  "  I  doan  tink  dare  ever  was 
much  hog  bout  me.  Here's  your  fiftj^,"  and  he  pushed 
back  to  the  gamey  little  chuck-a-luck  knight  two  of  the 


24S 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


latter's  alienated  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  and  a  ten-dollar 
bill. 

Then  the  crowd  gave  vent  to  its  long  suppressed  feelings 
by  everybody's  talking  at  the  same  time,  and  a  chaos  of 
sounds  was  the  result  for  a  moment  or  so. 

The  widow  entered  the  room  at  this  juncture. 

Elbowing  her  way  through  the  crowd  to  the  table,  she 
said  in  peremptory  tones.  "  Now  mah  frens  you  muss  not 
play  no  more  card  tonight.  Eet  ees  pass  twelve  o'clock  an 
Ah  nevaire  low  no  gamblin  on  dees  house  on  Sunday! 
Suppeur  ees  ready  an  you  muss  come  an  got  sumting  to  eat 
— dare  wus  no  seen  to  eat  on  Sunday,  you  know." 

*'  Well  misses,"  solemnly  exclaimed  the  "Wheel  of  Fortune 
Doctor,  "  that  ere  proposition  hits  my  present  complexion 
both  inwardly  and  outwardly  to  a  knock  down.  You  know, 
madame,"  he  continued  deliberately,  especially  addressing 
himself  to  the  widow,  "  this  ar  poker  game  is  a  mighty  inter- 
estin  amusement  when  it's  played  far  and  squar  on  the  top 
of  the  table — but  it  makes  a  man  a  kind  ©'suspicious  and 
skeery  when  a  party  stands  pat  with  four  Jacks  in  his  hand, 
another  feller  holds  up  three  kings  and  gets  the  other  king 
with  a  ace  in  the  draw,  and  you  yourself  is  obleeged  to  throw 
down  a  ten  full  on  fours  jest  as  a  matter  of  cautious 
jedgement!  I  tell  you  misses  thar's  a  heap  of  good  jedge- 
ment  involved  in  playin  agin  a  pat  hand !" 

To  all  of  which  the  hospitable  hostess  only  answered : 
"  Hoorah,  come  to  suppeur !  come  to  suppeur  1 "  and  scur- 
ried away  back  to  the  kitchen,  from  whence  she  had  just 
come. 


■Mtl 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Th«  Supper  —Peter  Berirand's  Toast  and  Monsieur  Badeeafiow'a  Reply. 

rpHE  PREDICTION  of  Mr.  Budd  Doble,  junior,  at  the 
-^  card  table  that  no  one  should  go  away  hungry  was 
arroly  fulfilled. 

The  supper  was  partaken  of  in  the  spacious  kitchen,  with 
its  sanded  floor  and  scrupulously  bright  and  clean  appoint- 
ments. 

Upon  a  table  covered  with  fleckless  cloths  and  capable 
ot  accommodating  thirty  at  a  sitting  was  spread  "tuckey," 
"  shickan''  and  '^couchon  de  lait,^'  together  with  a  profusion 
of  pies,  cakes  and  other  concomitants  more  than  sufficient 
to  satisfy  the  sharpened  appetites  of  every  one. 

Wnen  the  ladies,  waited  upon  by  their  escorts  and  gal- 
lants, had  partaken  of  coffee  and  whatever  of  substantials 
they  cared  for,  the  men  took  possession  of  the  table  and 
were  indiscriminately  waited  upon  by  the  ladies. 

Peter  Bertrand  insisted  upon  supplying  native  wine  for 
all  who  chose  to  imbibe  that  inspiring  beverage,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  furnished  an  opportunity  of  proposing  the 
widow's  health  in  a  bumper,  which  he  did  in  due  course  in 
a  surprisingly  appropriate  and  dignified  little  speech  in 
French. 

He  said,  among  other  polite  things,  that  Madame  Martin 
had  for  years  dispensed  greater  hospitality  and  contributed 
more  to  the  enjoyment  of  her  neighbors  than  any  other  resi- 

(849) 


■Hin 


250 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


dent  in  the  community,  and  that  her  pluck  and  enterprise 
■were  the  admiration  of  every  one  who  had  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  her.  He  felt  certain  that  every  one  present  would, 
therefore,  heartily  join  him  in  drinking  her  very  good  health 
and  wishing  that  she  might  long  live  to  own  as  good  a  horse 
as  Crapaud  and  dance  a  reel  in  the  manner  she  had  shown 
herself  capable  of  by  vanquishing  liim,  Peter,  that  evening 
in  the  opening  dance  of  one  of  the  pleasantest  reunions  at 
which  it  had  ever  been  his  lot  to  be  present. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  this  gallant  toast  was  received 
with  three  times  three  and  a  tiger.  Even  the  little  chuck-a- 
luck  faker,  all  bereft  of  much  of  his  money  and  his  sign 
manual,  his  diamond  solitaire,  and  barely  understanding  a 
word  of  what  Mons.  Bertrand  had  said,  was  none  the  less 
so  impressed  with  the  latter's  dignity  of  delivery  that  he 
was  among  the  most  vociferously  demonstrative  of  approval. 

The  truth  is,  that  Peter  Bertrand,  although  unable  to 
sign  his  own  name,  when  speaking  his  own  language,  pos- 
sessed, in  a  marked  degree,  the  quality  of  dignified  and 
even  courtier-like  utterance,  so  frequently  met  with  in  the 
illiterate  French  Canadian  habitant  of  the  old  school 

This  species  of  representative  of  le  ancien  regime  of  La 
Nouvelle  France  was  a  common  figure  in  the  French  settle- 
ments on  either  bank  of  the  Detroit  river  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years  ago ;  but  the  contaminating  influence  of  mod- 
ern methods  and  pending  social  peculiarities  have  largely 
robbed  the  present  generation  of  descendants  of  a  noble 
race,  in  the  districts  referred  to,  of  that  charm,  and  easy, 
self-possessed  grace  of  manner  which,  by  comparison,  made 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


251 


of  an  illiterate  peasant  a  dignified  courtier  in  the  days 
gone  by. 

When  Peter's  toast  had  been  done  rapturous  justice  to, 
the  widov;,  knowing  that  Moiisiei  r  Badeeshow  would  be 
sure  to  bo  on  the  qui  vive  to  make  a  speech,  with  ihoX^finesse 
which  so  distinguished  her,  whispered  a  request  to  him  that 
he  would  kindly  reply  in  her  behalf. 

This  was  the  obese  and  loquacious  councilor's  oppor- 
tunity, and  slowly  rising  to  his  feet  he  began  by  peremp- 
torily commanding  order  and  then  delivering  an  address  in 
English  with  unctuous  and  studied  deliberation.  He  said: 
"Genseemans  an  also  de  laday  what  wus  on  dees  keetchan ; 
Madame  Martin  hav  ax  me  to  mac  rayply  to  de  tose  what 
Monsieur  Pierro  Bertrand  wus  propose  on  faveur  of  he's 
belt  And  so  fur  sac  of  mac  compleemaw  to  dose  gensee- 
mans from  de  ceetay  what  coon't  unstan  hour  lawngage 
varrah  well.  Ah  have  mac  it  mah  mine  hup  Ah  wus  goan 
haddress  you  on  Angleesh  [hearl  hear!  and  demonstrative 
raps  upon  the  table  ]  ,  acose  bote  lawngage  wus  de  sam  fur 
me.  [Owi,  Oui,  ce  hien  vrais."]  On  de  conesye,  where  Ah 
wus  have  de  honneur  fur  be  maumbaire  fur  more  as  sick 
ear  now,  sometam  we  wus  have  two  Frenchmans  out  of  de 
fahve  of  us  maumbaire  which  was  compose  dat  conesye, 
[  Ho  done  Badeeshon  !  Envoy  fort !  ]  an  de  ress  of  eet  wus 
Angleesh.  [  Ce  vrais  I  Ce  la  verity  !  ]  Bot  sumtam  she 
wus  de  udder  way.  Sumtam  we  wus  two  Angleesh  an  tree 
Frenchmans,  an  dat  wus  de  way  she  wus  now.  [  Iloorah 
pour  le  coyiseil !  Iloorah/]  So  you  see,  genseemans  an  de 
layday  what  wus  on  dees  keetchan,  dat  eet  wus  mah  dootay 
as  wan  ov  dti  maumbaire  ov  de  conesye  ov  dees  tonesheep 


■U 


:i 


\        '! 


252 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


fur  spoke  it  bote  lawngage ;  an  Ah  wus  preffeclay  certali 
so  long's  Ah  wus  goan  be  maumbaire  ov  de  conesye  ov 
dees  mune  e  cee-pale-tay,  Ah  wus  goan  do  mah  dootay!" 
[  Haorah  ■pour  Badeeshon,     Envoy  f(yrt  bonhomie.  ] 
A  general  thumping  upon  the  table  followed  this  sally. 

Pending  these  noisy  demonstrations  which  were  so  far 
unnecessarily  prolonged  as  to  take  on  a  complexion  of  irony, 
the  councilor  sipped  from  his  glass  of  wine  and  dried  his 
exuding  brow  with  a  capacious  bluoand  white  cotton  hand- 
kerchief. Continuing,  he  said:  "  What  Monsieur  Pierro 
Bertrand  have  say  bout  Madame  Martin  wus  preffeclay 
correc,  an  lac  Ah  wus  say  beefour  she  have  ax  me  fur  tank 
you  an  mac  speech  on  heur  faveur,  an  dat,  genseemans  an 
de  layday  what  wus  on  dees  keetchen,  wus  what  Ah  wus 
have  grande  playzeer  fur  do  now.  [Ecoutezf  Ecoiitezf] 
Fur  mah  part,  Ah  tink  eef  all  de  mans  on  Canayday  have 
de  sam  poosh  an  anteurprees  bout  it  dat  Madame  Martin 
have,  de  conetray  wus  goan  got  long  fasser  an  have  mo  of 
de  prospareetay  bout  eet  dat  was  baylong  on  de  conetray 
of  Monsieur  Eatbone  an  de  udder  genseeemans  what  wus 
on  dees  house  whose  leef  on  de  under  side  of  de  lac  an  de 
riviere.  [  Ecoutez  I  Ecoutez !  Bon  pour  vous  Badeeshon  !  ] 
Genseemans  an  de  layday  what  Ah  have  de  honneur  fur 
haddress,  Ah  tank  you  agin  fur  de  tose  which  Monsieur 
Pierro  Bertrand  have  propose  on  faveur  of  Madame,  de 
Widday  Martin,  an  Ah  hope  we  wus  goan  meet  here  on  dees 
hospeetabble  keetchan  sum  udder  tarn  an  anjye  ourseff 
jews  de  sam  lac  we  have  do  dees  evenin."  [  Ecoutez  1  Ecoutez  ! 
and  wrapping  upon  the  table.  ] 

"Bot,  genseemans  an  de  layday  what  Ah  wus  have  de 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


253 


grande  playzeer  fur  haddress  on  dees  occasion,  on  de  meentam 
she  wus  got  pootay  late  now,  an  so,  wit  dees  few  raymark, 
Ah  weel  say  aurevotr  an  took  mah  seet." 

And  when  tlie  Falstaffiian  councilor  did  resume  his  seat 
the  applause  was  so  long  and  demonstrative  that  upon  the 
principle  that  extremes  meet  it  became  derisive. 

Certain  of  the  more  hilarious  younger  men  present  were 
especially  uproarious,  which,  doubtless,  was  in  a  large 
measure  due  to  Mons.  Badeeshow's  well  known  propensity 
for  speechifying  on  the  slightest  provocation  at  all  times 
and  places  coupled  with  the  fact  that  a  prophet  is  rarely  a 
prophet  in  his  "  ain  countree." 

While  this  good-natured  turmoil  was  at  its  height  Peter 
Bertrand  left  his  seat  at  the  head  of  the  table  and  seeking 
out  his  daughter  Blanche,  whom  he  found  amidst  a  bevy  of 
mischievous  girls  about  her  own  age  standing  near  the  door- 
way leading  to  the  dancing  dining  room,  he  enjoined  her  in 
a  kindly  way  to  at  once  prepare  for  departure  homewards. 

This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  stampede  of  the  girls 
upstairs  to  the  widow's  bedroom,  where  their  wraps  had  been 
left — while  Peter  returned  to  his  place  at  the  table  as  the 
cries,  ^^  Envoy  done  encore  Badeeshon !  Envoy  done!  Yous 
navez  pas  parlez  assez  /  Encore  /  Encore  /"  were  gradually 
subsiding. 

At  all  events,  Peter  once  in  his  seat  again,  in  view  of  its 
being  long  past  midniglit,  found  little  difficulty  in  obtaining 
the  attention  of  the  company  to  a  few  pertinent  and  well 
chosen  remarks  on  the  propriety  of  bringing  t'  o  evening's 
fun  to  a  close  by  thanking  the  widow  and  her  daughter  for 


:i 


llit,!. 


254 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


their  bountiful  hospitality  and  quietly  dispersing  for  their 
homes  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

This  suggestion  very  generally  seemed  to  strike  the  elder 
men  present  as  a  very  proper  one,  and  of  course  the  younger 
cavaliers  were  on  the  qui  vive  to  escort  their  belles  to  their 
respective  habitations. 

So,  that  within  another  half  hour,  after  many  hon  soirs. 
aurevoirs^  adieus,  and  much  harmless  badinage  a> 
each  took  their  respective  departure  the  goodly  compatiy 
had  dispersed,  leaving  the  widow,  aided  by  her  daughter 
and  the  assistance  of  two  female  domestics,  to  gather  up  the 
debris  of  the  supper,  wash  the  dishes,  and  generally  put  tlie 
house  in  order. 

The  two  fakers  and  the  redoubtable  proprietor  of  the  Dew 
Drop  Inn  sought  accommodation  for  the  remainder  of  the 
night,  or  rather  morning,  at  the  near-by  hostelry  of  Monsieur 
Goathere,  where,  on  their  arrival  before  the  race,  they  had 
put  up  their  respective  horses  and  sleighs. 

Jack  Rathbone,  Charley  Ford,  and  the  now  thoroughly 
gorged  band  were  thus  left  the  sole  inmates  of  the  household 
apart  from  the  busy  members  of  the  family,  Mr.  Budd 
Doble,  Junior,  and  the  servants. 

While  the  two  young  friends  from  the  city  sleepily  waited 
in  the  sitting  room  to  be  shown  to  their  joint  tall  posted 
feather  bed  in  the  room  specially  set  aside  for  the  accom- 
modation of  favored  boarders  and  distinguished  itinerant 
guests,  they  endeavored  to  amuse  and  keep  themselves 
awake  the  while  with  Mons.  Duplessis,  who  sat  with  legs 
outstretched  in  a  limp  and  lazy,  owl-like  way  gazing  upon 
the  slowly  dying  fire. 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


255 


He  was  for  the  nonce  manifestly  surfeited  with  the  good 
things  of  this  life,  gastronomically  speaking,  and  irresistably 
inclined  to  take  refuge  in  sleep. 

He  listlessly  held  between  his  teeth  an  ebony  hued  clay 
pipe,  dependent  from  the  bowl  of  which  was  a  diminutive 
steel  chain  holding  a  tin  cover  for  the  same. 

It  was  only  now  that  the  boys  became  fully  alive  to  the 
eccentricity  of  the  professor's  make-up. 

He  was  habited  in  a  smock  or  blouse  of  grey  home-spun 
with  a  belt  of  the  same  material  about  his  rotund  waist, 
while  his  trousers,  which  were  stuffed  inside  his  cloth- 
topped  shoepacs  fastened  with  "  babeech  "  strings,  were  a 
light  shade  of  blue  also  of  home  manufactured  material. 

His  neck  was  encircled  with  a  conspicuous  scarlet  ker- 
chief tied  in  a  crude  knot,  which  habitually  appeared  imme- 
diately forward  of  his  right  ear,  through  which  was  pierced, 
in  common  with  its  fellow-ear  on  the  other  side  of  his  head, 
a  small  gold  ring. 

"I  tell  you!"  exclaimed  Jack,  "you  were  mighty  mad 
with  the  widow  tonight,  weren't  you,  professor  ?  " 

"Well,  yas.  Ah  wus  pootay  mad  at  de  fust  of  eet,"  he 
replied  with  sleepily  drooping  eyelids,  as  he  took  the  pipe 
out  of  his  mouth  and  stuck  it  in  his  belt  like  a  dagger,  "bot 
Ah  have  forgeeve  heur  acose  she  have  beat  Pierro  Bertrand 
een  dat  reel.  When  Ah  have  see  heur  do  dat,  bah  gosh ! 
Ah  wus  sateesfy,  an  Ah've  forgeeve  heur." 

"That's  right,  professor,"  chaffingly  exclaimed  Charley 
Ford  in  approval,  "to  forgive  is  divine,  you  know." 

"To  forgeeve  ees  davvanne,  ay?  Aw,  well,  Ah  suepose 
so,"  slowly  responded  Mons.  Duplessis,  with  drooping  head 


i 


4 


256 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


and  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders.  "  Mais  Ah'll  toll  you,  mon- 
sieur, whenevaire  Ah  was  feel  up  on  mah  eenside  je,w8  lac 
Ah  wus  now,  Ah  nevaire  care  nutting  'bout  what's  go  on 
on  de  houtside  ov  me/'  and  he  raised  his  head  for  an 
instant  and  smiled  a  ghastly,  maudlin  smile,  as  if  in  duty 
bound,  at  the  joke. 

"  What  are  you  chiefly  filled  up  with  now,  professor?  " 
asked  Jack  with  an  assumption  of  deference. 

"Well,  you  see,''  he  replied,  with  another  sleepy  shrug  of 
his  round  shoulders,  "  Ali've  dreenk  good  deel  ov  hoisson 
durin  de  day,  mais  Ah  wus  mossly  feel  up  wit  couchon  de 
lait  jews  at  de  presen  lam." 

"That's  roast  pig,  isn't  it?"  enquired  Charley. 

"  Ouij  monsieur,  Ah  bleeve  dat's  de  nam  what  he's  have 
on  Angleesh,"  he  observed,  with  a  sleepy  nod  of  approval. 

"So  you  like  roast  pig,  do  you,  professor?  "  asked  Jack, 
winking  at  Charley. 

"  Roas  peeg  I "  exclaimed  Monsieur  Duplessis,  with  an 
inane  smile  of  enthusiasm,  rousing  himself  up  for  the 
moment,  "you  could  bet  yo  laf  Ah  do,  monsieur  I  Dare 
wus  nutting  on  de  worl  so  good  fur  eat  lac  couchon  de  hit — 
what's  you  calls  roas  peeg  1  Ah've  eat  so  moch  of  dat  at  sup- 
peur  dat,  bah  gosh !  at  de  presen  tam  Ah  wus  feel  jews  lac 
Ah  wus  peeg  cleen  trough  bote  heenside  an  houtside  ov 
meseff,"  and  again  the  ghastly,  sleepy,  maudlin  smile  flitted 
o'er  the  obese  rubicund  countenance. 

"  Well,"  exclaimed  David,  the  driver,  as  he  appeared  at 
the  door  with  a  lighted  tallow  dip  in  his  hand  at  that 
instant.  "Dat's  a  fac ;  you  looks  lac  a  peeg  on  de  houtside 
ov  you  fur  sure,  fur  sure ! " 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


257 


"Oil,  go  way,  Dawveeil!  (loan  bockleur  mcl"  and  Mon- 
sieur Duplessis'  chin  fell  upon  his  broad  chest,  apparently 
as  evidence  of  the  first  throes  of  a  resounding  slumber. 

"Monsieur  llatbone,"  said  Dave,  addressing  Jack  defer- 
entially, "de  misses  an  Rosalie  wus  beesay  on  de  keetcluui, 
an  dcy  toll  me  Ah  wus  to  ci)me  an  show  bote  ov  you  to  yo 
bed,  wheech  wus  now  rcdday." 

"  All  right  Dave,  we're  ready  too,"  and  the  two  truants 
arose  and  followed  David  upstairs  to  bed. 

It  was  well  on  towards  daylight  when  Madame  Martin, 
Rosalie  and  the  others  of  the  household  retired,  but  when 
they  did  do  so  the  hospitable  hosteliy  had  resumed  its  pris- 
tine appearance  of  order  and  the  famous  widow's  ball  had 
become  a  not  unimportant  or  unsatisfactory  item  in  the 
somewhat  eventful  history  thereof,  ■'       , 


,1  i' 


'xi 


i^<3 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Reactionary  Reflections. 

npHE  DRIVE  back  to  the  city  along  the  hordage  of  the 
-^  frozen  lake  and  river  the  following  bright  Sabbath 
morning  might  have  been  a  pleasantly  exhilarating  one  to 
the  boyp,  but  for  the  inward  ruminations  of  Ccvh  of  them, 
albeit  each  of  them  were  not  in  the  same  degree  of  mental 
perturbation. 

Charley  Ford,  whose  widowed  mother  regarded  him  as 
the  summum  bonum  of  filial  perfection  when  she  was  pleased 
with  him,  had  unconsciously  allowed  her  love  to  assume 
the  Platonic  form  of  an  exacting  woman  of  her  own  son's 
age,  with,  of  course  on  occasion,  all  the  sublime  self-sacrific- 
ing characteristics  of  a  devoted  mother's  love.  Ilence  it 
was  that  so  long  as  there  was  no  suspicion  of  another 
•woman  in  the  case,  young  or  old,  the  loving  intimacy  'twixt 
mother  and  son  was  one  of  those  divine  manifestations  of 
our  kind's  better  qualities,  which  goes  far  towards  compen- 
sating for  our  wretched  normally  inherent  carnalism  and  its 
subsequent  disenchanting  growth  to  selfish  worldliness. 

Yet,  let  there  be  another  woman  wnth  a  modicum  of  tan- 
gibility appear  upon  the  ^cene,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
the  divinity  of  such  maternal  love  takes  flight  and  leaves  in 
its  stead  the  unnatural  and  unreasoning  passion  of  a  jealous 
woman. 

While  this  eccentric  sort  of  motherly  affection  may  be  of 
rare  occurence  in  well  regulated  society,  howbeit  it  is  not 

(259) 


>J>1 


.  fti 


^|J 


260 


BOKDEli   CANUCKS. 


.•^ 


without  constantly  existing  exemplifica^n ;  and  where  it 
does  exhibit  itself  it  seldom  fails  of  being  a  detriment  rather 
than  a  moral  and  material  advantage  to  its  filial  object. 

The  tendency  to  harbor  such  a  love  for  their  sons  on  the 
part  of  occasional  mothers  is  no  doubt  largely  the  reason 
why  the  average  mother-in-law  is  proverbially  held  in  such 
real  or  Pickwiclvian  disrepute. 

Mrs.  Ford,  especially  as  to  Charley,  the  eldest  of  her  two 
sons,  was  the  kind  of  mother  in  question,  and  in  her  exact- 
ing demands  for  explanations  of  what  he  had  been  doing 
during  his  sometimes  surreptitious  absences  from  home  (  as 
on  the  present  occasion  )  had  gotten  to  make  liim  frequently 
feel  a  repugnance  to  going  back  to  be  subjected  to  the  cate- 
chism of  questions  he  was  sure  to  be. 

How  manj'  an  unfortunate  has  desperately  plunged 
deeper  into  the  mire  of  misbehavior  and  s;u  by  prolonging 
a  spree  or  other  truant  delinquency,  simply  because  of  this 
fear  or  repugnance  to  going  home  *'  to  face  the  music !  " 

It  would  seem  quite  within  the  range  of  reason  to  assume 
that  if  the  prodigal  son  of  old  had  not  been  reduced  to  corn 
husks  and  pig  swill  as  articles  of  daily  diet,  he'd  never  have 
returned  home  at  all  to  confront  an  outraged  parent  with 
peccavi  upon  his  lips,  and  thus  have  robbed  succeeding  gen- 
erations of  a  didactic  and  exemplary  story. 

While,  from  a  human  philosophical  point  of  view,  it  may 
be  a  humiliating  fact  to  contemplate,  yet  it  none  the  less  is 
the  fact  that  the  vulgar  and  irrepressible  stomach  of  man- 
kind hasr  greater  stimulating  influence  for  good  or  evil  over 
its  actions  than  has  the  allegorical  heart,  about  which  poets 
have  continued  to  sing  from  time  immemorial. 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


261 


May  it  not  be  that  your  true  poet  when  the  divine 
afflatus  moves  him  is  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  call  vulgar 
things  by  their  right  names,  and  while  he  calls  it  beart 
means  stomach  all  the  time  ? 

It  was  not  however  the  condition  of  either  Charley  Ford's 
heart  or  his  stomach  which  disturbed  his  mental  serenity  as 
the  speedy  little  pony  Bijou  scurried  him  and  his  now  silent 
Jidus  achates  over  the  glib  ice  along  the  snow  clad  shore  on 
down  towards  the  city. 

As  intimated  before,  it  was  the  proppcetive  maternal 
catechism  of  explanations  —  the  outcome  of  a  jealous 
solicitude  -and  the  probable  prevarication  he  thought  he 
should  have  to  resort  to  to  smooth  things  over  when  he 
reached  home  that  made  him  feel  ill  at  ease. 

Lie,  however,  felt  that  these  objectionable  qualms  once 
being  swallowed,  he  had  it  within  th(3  repertory  of  his 
romantic  resources  to  soothe  the  exacting  and  suspicious 
maternal  breast  on  his  arrival  at  the  Ford  domicile. 

But  with  Jack  Rathbone  it  was  different. 

With  that  conscious  stricken  presentiment  of  the  evil-doer 
under  given  circumstances,  in  view  of  his  father's  latter-day 
jealous  and  rigid  treatment  of  him,  he  felt  that  he  was 
going  back  to  a  disturbed  and  unhappy  household  with  his 
poor,  fondly  devoted,  little  mother  as  the  patient  scape-goat 
of  his  own  inconsiderate,  disobedient  conduct. 

Hence  it  was  that  as  they  swiftly  approached  the  *erry 
crossing  to  Detroit  in  moody  silence  the  solitary  male  scion 
of  the  house  of  Rathbone,  in  respect  of  his  mental  rumina- 
tions, might  have  been  likened  unto  a  guilty  culprit  being 
carried  unresisting  back  to  retributive  justice. 


262 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


The  steamer  Victoria  having  Gracie  and  Emily  on  board 
was  just  in  the  act  of  forcing  her  way  through  an  accumu- 
lated jam  of  thick  ice  to  he:  moorings  as  the  pony  slackened 
speed  at  the  eastern  corner  of  the  short  decline  leading  to 
the  dock  at  Windsor.  And  it  was  rather  a  relief  to  Master 
Jack's  saturnine  condition  of  mind  to  espy  his  pretty  little 
sister  and  his  favorite  girl  friend,  the  daughter  of  iiis 
father's  junior  business  partner,  leaning  upon  the  railing  at 
the  forward  par.,  of  the  vessel,  as  with  difficulty  she  crushed 
her  way  to  the  landing. 

Never  a  word  had  passed  between  the  girls  as  they  were 
borne  across  the  ice-clad  river. 

Miss  Ritter  silently  munched  away  at  her  gum  and  gazed 
absorbedly  over  the  railing  at  the  receding  ice,  over  which 
at  times  the  steamer  seemed  to  fly  and  then  again  at  times 
was  forced  to  partially  stop  and  do  battle  with — while 
Gracie  Rathboue,  minus  the  gum-chewing— (an  industry 
she  had  learned  to  confine  to  home  uses )  stood  alongside 
her  and  also  contemplatively  gazed  down  upon  the  receding 
ice  in  a  nervous  and  dissatisfied  frame  of  mind. 

She  was  annoyed  with  Emily — yes  very  much  annoyed 
indeed — because  of  the  heartless  manner  in  which  she  had 
insinuated  to  that  brusque,  old  captain  that  she,  Gracie 
Rathbone,  was  in  love  with  Charley  Ford. 

She  was  quite  certain  she  was  not  in  love  with  Charley 
Ford,  nor  had  she  ever  thought  of  loving  him. 

Of  course  she  liked  Charley  Ford  as  a  friend  !  Of  course 
she  did,  and  she  had  always  worn  the  plain  little  frosted  old 
gold  ring  he  had  given  her  as  a  philopena  present  now  near 
two  years  ago. 


tmarmmimmimi'mmamm^n 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


263 


She  did  not  see  how  any  one  could  well  help  liking 
Charley  Ford  as  a  friend — he  was  so  nice  and  such  a 
cherished  friend  of  dear  old  Jack's  ! 

And  then  too  what  that  rough  old  Captain  had  said  was 
quite  true !  He  was  by  far  the  handsomest  young  man  in 
Detroit !  In  fact,  Charley  Ford  was  the  best  looking  young 
fellow  she'd  ever  set  eyes  on  in  all  her  live-long  life  1  And 
how  mean  it  was  of  Emily  to  dislike  him  as  she  made  out 
she  did — call  him  a  dude  and  say  such  wicked,  sarcastic 
things  of  him. 

She  was  quite  certain  that  if  Emily  ever  repeated  that 
sort  of  thing  in  her  presence  she  never'd  have  anything  to 
do  with  her  again. 

No,  never,  never!  She  was  quite  certain  of  that  I 

Why,  the  best  assurance  any  one  could  have  that  Charley 
Ford  was  just  all  right  and  a  noble  fellow  was  that  he'd 
always  been  so  fast  a  friend  and  favorite  of  dear  old  Jack's. 

Oh,  my!  what  was  going  to  become  of  Jack  after  this? 

"Would  her  mamma  be  able  to  pave  him  from  being 
banished  from  home?     She  hoped  and  prayed  she  :Dight! 

Oh,  goodness !  how  could  she  ever  live  without  the  com- 
panionship of  poor,  dear,  old  Jack  ?  She  was  quite  certain 
that  her  papa  would  never  allow  Charley  F  )rd  to  come  to 
the  house  to  see  any  of  the  rest  of  the  family  if  Jack  were 
sent  away. 

And  her  heart  bounded  within  her,  and  a  great,  gulping 
sob  came  to  her  throat,  as  with  tears  glistening  in  her 
pretty  eyes  she  exclaimed,  as  the  steamer  neared  the  wharf, 
"Oh,  Emily,  there  they  a;e  coming  down  the  hill  now! 
How  fortunate  we  are,  aren't  we?  " 


'1  i 

HI       i 


■^Ci    . 


264 


BOKDEK   CANUCKS. 


UC, 


E^H? 


it' 


"Yes,  very  fortunate,''  chewed  out  Miss  Ritter,  indif- 
erentlj. 

"Look,  how  the  steam  rises  from  poor  little  Bijou,'' 
remarked  Graeie,  tremulously.  "They  must  have  driven 
very  fast." 

"  Yes,  I  see.  Don't  you  think  that  if  they  had  used  the 
same  quantity  of  sieam  they  might  have  gotten  home  last 
night  and  saved  us  tlie  trouble  of  this  charming  exjxdition 
to  warn  Jack  that  he's  going  to  receive  his  quietus  when  he 
gets  home?" 

"I  never  said  he  was  going  to  receive  anything  of  the 
sort,  Emily.  I  said  that  I  knew  that  Papa  was  so  annoyed 
with  him  that  I  was  afraid  something  dreadful  wuld  occur 
when  he  gets  home." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  he's  going  to  be  murdered  ?  "  quer- 
ried  Miss  Hitter,  with  provoking  sangfroid^  as  the  steamer 
gradually  approached  her  landing  place. 

"No,  Emily,"  she  replied,  with  another  great  gulp  of 
nervous  wretchedness,  "I  didn't  tell  you  that  Jack  was 
going  to  be  murdered  or  anything  of  that  sort — you  know 
I  didn't!  I  told  you  that  I  was  afraid  that  papa  would 
carry  out  his  threat  of  sending  him  away  from  the  hous^  — 
banish  him  away  from  us,  you  know,  at  least  for  a  time." 

Poor  little  scheming  sylphide  !  It  was  only  by  a  heroic 
effort  of  self-control  that  she  avoided  completely  breaking 
down ;  but  the  time  for  that  was  not  yet. 

"  And  I  told  you,"  replied  the  imperturbable  Miss  Ritter, 
demonstratively  munching  away  at  her  gum,  "  that  I  didn't 
think  being  sent  away  to  some  other  part  of  the  world  for  a 
time  would  at  all  hurt  Jack."     And  then  she  added,  after  a 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


265 


short  pause,  as  if  it  were  the  outcome  of  an  after-thought, 
"But  I  really  don't  see  how  Charley  Ford  would  ever  get 
on  without  Jack  to  tote  him  about  the  country." 

"You're  in  eve  of  your  hateful  humors  this  morning, 
Emily,  and  you're  trying  to  make  yourself  as  disagreeable 
as  you  can." 

After  delivering  this  remonstrance  in  a  trembling  voice 
she'rushed  off  the  now  landed  boat  and,  child-like,  gaining 
the  sleigh  just  as  Jack  had  pulled  up  to  await  the  debarka- 
tion of  another  vehicle,  she  stepped  upon  the  right-hand 
side  bar  of  the  cutter,  threw  her  arms  around  her  brother's 
neck  and  burst  into  a  passion  of  tears. 

"  Why,  Gracie  dear,"  'Exclaimed  Jack  as  he  dropped  the 
reins  on  the  dashboard  and  encircling  her  fragile  waist  with 
his  right  arm,  kissed  her  burning  cheek.  "Wiiy,  what  can 
the  matter  be,  little  one? 

^ "  Oh,  Jack,  I'm  so  glad  you've  come  back !  We've  all 
been  in  such  a  way  about  you  1"  sobbed  the  poor  sylph 
with  her  face  partially  hidden  upon  her  brother's  broad 
chest  ' 

"  Why  you  didn't  suppose  I  was  never  coming  home 
little  sister,  did  you  ?" 

"  No,  no.  Jack,"  with  a  shudder,  "but  I'm  so  afraid." 

"What  are  you  afraid  of  dear?"  he  asked  with  an  in- 
creasing premonition  of  probable  breakers  ahead. 

To  this  question  no  answer  came  saving  the  outflow  of 
long  pent  up  sobs. 

Meanwhile  her  ungloved  left  hand  with  the  frosted  gold 
band, on  the  third  finger  thereof  lay  prone  upon  Jack's  left 
shoulder. 


H 


I    ! 


266 


BORDER   CANUCKS. 


This  thin,  long-fingered,  well-shaped  little  palm  Charley 
Ford  took  in  both  of  his,  and  first  kissing  it,  fondled  it  with 
demonstrative  sympathy,  "  Don't  cry  dear  little  Gracie,"  he 
said  soothingly ;  "  we've  got  back  all  right,  you  see.  It 
was  very  cruel  of  Jack  to  frighten  you  by  remaining  aw:iy 
all  night." 

"  No  it  wasn't,"  remonstratively  shuddered  the  unfortunate 
little  schemer,  as  she  withdrew  her  hand  from  her  demon- 
strative sympathizer,  "Jack  never  could  be  cruel !  " 

"There,  dear,  now,"  interposed  her  brother,  "straighten 
yourself  up  and  don't  cry  any  more;  there's  a  good  girl. 
Everyone  on  the  wharf  is  looking  at  us  now,  and  they'll 
think  we're  all  daft  if  you  go  on  in  this  way.  There,  dear, 
there's  a  good  girl ;  straighten  yourself  up  and  dry  your 
eyes  like  a  good  little  thing.  You  can  sit  in  this  seat  along- 
side of  Charley  while  I  get  out  and  put  the  blanket  over 
Bijou.     I'm  afraid  she'll  catch  cold  if  I  don't  cover  her  up." 

And  she  did  make  a  remarkably  successful  effort  to  com- 
pose herself  and  pull  herself  together.  For,  Oh,  what  a 
thrill  of  intense  ecstacy  had  coursed  through  her  veins 
when  Charley  Ford  had  kissed  her  hand  and  called  her 
dear  little  Gracie  I 

How  nice  and  kind  it  was  of  him  to  sympathize  with  her 
in  that  way.  And  yet,  her  papa  had  compared  him  to 
Jesse  James  I 

For  the  moment  she  felt  that  she  almost  hated  both  her 
papa  and  that  enviously  wicked  Emily,  who  continued  to 
gaze  at  them  with  sardonic  smile  as  she  leaned  over  the  rail- 
ing of  the  steamer. 


PORDKlt  CANUCKS. 


267 


"  There  now,  Gracie,"  said  Jack  soothingly,  as  he  got  out 
of  the  sleigh  and  handed  her  into  his  seat,  "  don't  cry  any 
more  ;  there's  a  good  child. 

"  No,  I  sha'n't  cry  any  more,  Jack,"  she  said  tremblingly, 
holding  her  handkerchief  over  her  mouth,  with  swollen 
eyes  and  a  blanched  face. 

Jack  had  called  her  child.  She  was  no  longer  a  child 
now. 

She  had  suddenly  become  a  woman,  albeit  a  §omewhat 
diminutive  one  of  close  upon  fifteen  summers. 


:!!    !?■ 


ii»: 


m 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


An  International  Love  Scene. 


\  FEW  MOMENTS  after,  the  pony  and  sleigh  with  its 
-'^-^*-  contents  and  Jack  Rathbone  were  embarked  aboard 
the  ferry  steamer,  she  left  her  moorings  and  proceeded  to 
battle  her  way  through  the  thick  ice  back  to  the  American 
side,  while  Miss  Ritter  continued  to  occupy  her  same  place 
at  the  railing. 

"  "Well,  Emily,  good  morning,"  said  Jack,  approaching 
her  with  extended  hand,  "  I'm  agreeably  surprised  to  see 
you  here  this  morning." 

"Are  you?"  retorted  the  junior  partner's  daughter,  "I 
must  say  that  I'm  rather  confounded  at  finding  myself  here 
here  this  morning." 

"  Why  confounded,  pray  ?" 

"  Because,  I  feel  for  the  moment  as  if  I'd  been  on  a  wild 
goose  chase  all  morning  and  had  just  caught  the  goose." 

**  There  you  go  with  that  irrepressible  sarcasm  of  yours  I" 
said  Jack  laughing.  *'  That's  a  very  effective  way  of 
telling  a  fellow  he's  a  goose,  isn't  it?" 

"Well,  don't  you  think  'a  fellow'  ought  to  feel  like  a 
goose,  with  a  big  G?" 

"Why,  particularly  for  please?" 

"For  going  to  that  French  race  and  staying  away  all 
night." 

(269)    . 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


«*  my  \i2A 

'.1    112 


m 


12.2 


2.0 


1.8 


1.25      1.4 

1.6 

< 6"     - 

► 

V] 


<^ 


/2 


/a 


'3 


%'  / 


^^. 


6^3 


c^ 


r> 


'/ 


4. 


m 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREIT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  H580 

(716)872-4503 


^ 


4? 


i-V 


:\ 


\ 


% 


V 


Ci^ 


^ 


V 


.^ 


<b 


n? 


i 


270 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"But  we  couldn't  have  driven  down  on  the  ice  after 
dark." 

"  But  you  could  have  driven  down  before  dark,  couldn't 
you?" 

"  Not  very  well  and  seen  the  last  of  the  race." 

"  I  suppose  there's  some  kind  of  a  thoroughfare  on  the 
land  along  the  shore  and  you  could  have  driven  down  on 
that  after  dark,  couldn't  you  ?" 

"Yes,  but  the  sleighing  was  not  good.  Still  I'm  free  to 
confess,"  he  continued,  "tliat  if  we'd  wanted  to  very 
badly,  we  might  have  come  home  last  night." 

"  I  thought  so  I  Well,  as  I  understand  it  from  Grace  your 
expedition,  taken  as  a  whole,  has  completely  knocked  out 
the  senior  partner." 

Miss  Eitter  often  referred  to  Mr.  Rathboneas  "the  senior 
partner,"  or  "the  head  of  the  firm." 

"  And  now,  I  suppose,  grimly  suggested  Jack,  "  it  will  be 
my  turn  to  be  knocked  out  when  I  get  home." 

"  Well,  I  fail  to  see  anything  very  especially  criminal  in 
going  to  a  French  horse  race,"  slowly  and  deliberately 
replied  Miss  Bitter,  "and  if  the  head  of  the  firm  should 
make  it  too  unpleasant  for  you  when  you  get  back  home 
you  just  march  down  to  our  place  and  mother  and  I  will 
look  after  you  until  the  storm  is  over." 

"I'm  very  much  obliged  to  you  I'm  sure,  Emily,"  replied 
the  truant,  smiling  sadly,  "but  I  sometimes  despair  of  the 
storm's  ever  being  over  with  me  in  so  far  as  the  governor  is 
concerned.  He  seems  to  have  taken  an  absolute  aversion  to 
me  of  late." 

"Well,  you  must  only  patiently  grin  and  bear  it,  I 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


271 


suppose.  The  old-fashioned  church  I  belong  to  teaches  that 
one  must  bow  to  the  will  of  one's  parents,  however  exact- 
ing they  may  be." 

"  Yes,  that's  all  very  fine,  but  when  that  will  arises  from 
manifestly  unnatural  motives  and  is  harsh  and  intolerant, 
what  is  one  to  do  ?" 

"  Still  patiently  grin  and  bear  it,"  asserted  Miss  Bitter 
with  a  confirmatory  nod  of  her  head,  while  she  demonstra- 
tively threshed  away  at  her  gum. 

"  I  can  only  tell  you  that  if  I  had  had  my  own  way  about 
it,"  continued  Jack  earnestly,  "I  should  have  left  my 
father's  roof  more  than  a  year  ago — in  fact,  I  have  often  felt 
a  contempt  for  myself  for  stopping  on  as  I  have  when  I'm 
quite  able  to  earn  my  own  livmg,  at  all  events  with  my 
hands,  if  not  with  my  head." 

"  And  what  had  you  proposed  doing?  "  asked  the  matter- 
of-fact  one. 

"  Emigrating  to  Montana,  Oregon,  New  Mexico  or  some 
other  outlying  territory  and  growing  up  with  the  country." 

"  And  becoming  a  professional  cowboy  or  something  of 
that  sort,  I  suppose,"  she  added. 

"Perhaps  so." 

"  A  lofty,  praiseworthy  ambition  I  must  say,"  sneered 
Miss  Ritter,  "and  what  do  you  think  would  become  of 
your  mother  if  you  carried  out  that  programme?" 

"  Well,  poor  little  mother  and  I  must  part  some  day  or 
other,  you  know,  Emily,"  and  having  thought  himself  into 
the  nervous  condition  of  mind  he  had  during  the  drive 
down,  there  was  a  perceptible  tremor  in  his  voice,  "  but  I 
don't  mind  confessing  to  you — because  I  don't  seem  to  mind 


I    ; 


t  ' 


1 

1 

V 

272 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


telling  you  any  sort  of  stupid  thing  about  my  excessively 
egotistical  self — that  I  shall  feel  very  much  like  a  ship 
without  a  rudder  when  I  cease  to  have  my  mother  to  go 
back  to  each  day.  This  may  make  me  appear  very 
ridiculous  and  calfish  in  your  eyes,  Emily,  but  I  hope  you'll 
not  laugh  at  me  for  feeling  as  I  do." 

"Laugh  at  you  Jack!"  shedeprecatingly  exclaimed,  while 
she  ceased  her  gum-chewing,  and  her  usually  expressionless 
pale  blue  eyes  took  an  ineffably  tender  look  as  she  gazed 
into  those  of  the  truant  youth,  "  I'm  not  in  the  habit  of 
laughing  at  the  good  I  accidentally  stumble  upon  in  this 
vale  of  tears,"  and  she  again  resumed  hei-  }n-evious  occu- 
pation of  leaning  over  the  steamer's  railing  and  gazing 
intently  upon  the  rapidly  crumbling  ice  below, 

"You  must  remember  that  I  have  scarcely  shed  my 
swaddling  coat  yet,  Emily,"  he  observecl  apologetically,  as 
he  too  leaned  over  the  railing  and  lapsed  into  silence. 

"Then  my  advice  to  you  is,''  she  remarked  without  look- 
ing up,  "  that  you'd  better  hang  on  to  that  coat  as  long  as 
you  conveniently  can,  because  the  probabilities  are  that 
you  will  never  wear  so  becoming  a  garment  again  in  after 
life,"  and  the  gum-chewing  industry  was  again  resumed 
with  renewed  vigor. 

Meanwhile  the  sympathetic  friendliness  'twixt  the  dainty 
little  sylphide  and  Charley  Ford,  seated  in  the  sleigh,  grew 
on  apace. 

"  You  know,  Gracie,"  said  Charley,  after  Jack  had  gone 
away  to  speak  with  Emily,  "  I  have  always  been  one  of 
your  brother's  nearest  friends  and  greatest  admirers,  but  I 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


273 


don't  think  that  I  ever  positively  envied  him  before  until 
this  n^orning." 

"I  can't  see  hov7  he  is  particularly  to  be  envied  this 
morning  of  all  others,"  she  replied  in  a  tremblings  voice, 
looking  straight  before  her  between  the  pony  Bijou's  ears. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  reference  to  the  rumpus  your  father 
has  been  probably  making  because  of  our  going  upon  this 
lamentable  expedition  ?  " 

"Yes,  he's  very  much  annoyed,  indeed,  and  I'm  so  ter- 
ribly afraid  that  something  dreadful  is  going  to  happen  — 
something  that  will  send  Jack  away  from  us  for  a  long 
time,"  and  the  tear-stamed  little  child-woman  with  difficulty 
gulped  down  an  involuntary  sob. 

"Oh,  no,  Gracie,  I  don't  think  you  need  feel  like  that," 
remonstrated  Charley  sympathetically,  as  he  again  took  her 
ungloved  left  hand  in  both  of  his  and  fondled  it,  "the 
storm  will  soon  blow  over,  you  may  depend  upon  it.  Jack's 
been  guilty  of  nothing  so  very  dreadful.'* 

"I  know  that,"  asscated  the  little  one  with  a  shuddering 
sigh,  "but  papa  is  so  very  exacting  with  Jack,  and  so  very 
determined,  too." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  haVe  reason  to  believe  that  he  is  all  that ;  it 
certainly  was  not  for  any  such  reason  that  I  said  I  especially 
envied  your  brother  this  morning ; "  and  lowering  his  voice 
to  a  confidential,  lover-like  whisper  he  continued:  "I 
envy  Jack  because  he  has  such  a  dear,  precious,  little 
woman  as  you  are  to  sympathize  with  and  love  him ! " 

"Well,  I  don't  see  how  1  could  very  well  help  Ic  'ng 
such  a  brother  as  dear,  old  Jack  is,'*  inanely  suggested  the 
sylph  with  a  shiver,  growing  paler. 


"■\m 


.1 


274 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"Yes,  I'm  very  well  aware  that  you  couldn't  help  loving 
Jack,  because  he  is  the  dearest  fellow  in  the  woi  Id,  but  I 
must  contradict  myself  by  saying  that  while  I  envy  your 
brother  in  one  way,  I  don't  regret  that  I  am  not  in  his  place 
as  your  brother." 

"Oh,  I  see,  you  wouldn't  care  to  have  a  i^ister."  she 
replied,  still  looking  straight  before  her  —  in  turn  growing 
red.  • 

"  No,  you  don't  understand  me.  I  should  much  prefer 
to  have  a  nice  girl  for  a  sister.  'Twoukl  have  been  better 
for  we  two  boys,  and  mother's  too  often  lonely  life  would 
have  been  relieved  of  its  loneliness  by  a  daughter's  compan- 
ionship. The  truth  is,  that  I  believe  there*?  always  some- 
thing wanting  in  a  household  without  a  daughter,  and  I'm 
quite  sure  there's  always  something  lacking  in  the  life  of  a 
growing  boy  or  young  man  who  is  without  the  benign 
influence  of  a  pure  minded,  sensible  sister.  But  what  I 
referred  to  was  that  I'd  prefer  not  to  have  you  for  a  sister." 

"Thank  you  very  much  for  the  compliment,  Mr.  Ford," 
replied  the  trembling  sylph,  growing  white. 

"  No,  dear  little  one,"  he  said  in  passionate  lover's  tones, 
lowering  his  voice,  "  I  shall  henceforth  pray  that  you  shall 
be  something  nearer  to  me  than  a  sister;  in  other  words, 
that  we  may  go  into  partnership  in  loving  Jack  —  you  as  a 
sister  and  I  as  a  brother." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Ford!  "  she  exclaimed  in  a  trembling  under- 
tone, with  eyes  cast  down,  "  you  should  not  say  what  you 
don't  a  bit  mean  I  " 

"But  I  do  mean  it  more  than  I  ever  meant  anything 
before  in  all  my  life  I     And,  remember,  Gracie  dear,  if 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


275 


you'll  charitably  let  me,  I'm  always  to  be  your  nearest 
friend,  Ciiarley,  hereafter!"  and  the  instinctive  sense  of 
proprietary  of  this  gushing  little  woman's  heart,  which  had 
for  the  first  time  vividly  come  to  him  within  the  last  few 
moments,  gave  him  the  only  tingling  throe  of  unadulterated 
love  he  had  ever  thus  far  felt  in  all  his  li"fe. 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  observe  of 
him  among  our  fellows  upon  whose  soul  has  never  flashed 
this  first  uncontaminated  ray  of  love's  bright,  young  dream, 
that  he  is  much  to  be  commiserated  with,  in  that  from 
such  an  one  has  been  withheld  the  most  ecstatic  thrill  of 
Platonic  adoration  possible  to  our  combinedly  ethereal  and 
fleshly  natures. 

Howbeit,  since  the  cloven  feet  of  vanity  and  vexation  of 
spirit  are  ever  pattering  along  at  least  abreast  of  us,  the 
capacity  to  feel  these  ecstatic  thrills  is  but  too  often  diverted 
into  the  earth  earthiness  of  a  common,  every-day,  vulgar, 
materialistic  passion,  but  too  often,  alas  I  bringing  sorrow, 
humiliation  and  all  uncharitpbleness  in  its  immediate  train. 

Let  this  be  as  it  may,  Charley  Ford  was  for  the  nonce 
made  better  for  the  sudden  realization  of  his  sometime 
unconsciously  growing  love  for  the  little  girl  beside  him 
and  her  reciprocal  fondness  for  him. 

He  would  now  give  his  mother  a  truthful  account  of  his 
■whereabouts  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  notwithstanding 
that  oil  the  drive  down  he  had  sketched  out  within  his  own 
mind  a  plausibly  romantic  tale  of  explanation  to  pour  into 
the  maternal  ear  on  his  arrival  home. 

Yes,  he  would  tell  her  the  truth  about  his  truant  expedi- 


,  '    !■''■! 

i 

\ 

■■■1  .i-i'i 

'"••''';' 

i 

:1;l! 


o-iiM 


i   ^ 


276 


BORDER  CANUCE& 


tion  and  promise  her  with  a  kiss  that  such  a  thing  would 
never  occur  again. 

This,  in  his  present  couleur  de  rose  frame  of  mind,  he  felt 
would  pacify  and  reassure  her;  and  the  probabilities  are 
that  he  was  not  far  out  in  his  reckoning  when  the  time 
came,  an  hour  or  so  afterwards,  to  put  his  good  resolution 
into  effect  on  the  return  from  church  of  his  devout  mater 
and  younger  brother  to  their  comfortable  home,  to  find  him 
already  arrived  there. 

As  the  steamer  neared  the  Detroit  side  Jack  and  Emily 
left  their  places  at  the  railing  on  the  starboard  side  and 
approached  the  sleigh. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter  little  puss?"  asked  Jack, 
"  you  look  as  if  you  had  heard  something  that  very  much 
pleased  you !  Has  Charley  been  telling  you  of  some  of  our 
funny  experiences  at  the  widow's  ball  last  night?" 

"  No,  were  you  at  a  ball  last  night  ?"  she  asked  with 
changing  expression. 

"  Yes,  of  course  we  were — weren't  we  Charley  ?" 

"Good  morning,  Miss  Emily,"  said  Charley,  cutting  in 
and  smiling  his  most  propitiatory  and  fascinating  smile  on 
the  junior  partner's  hopeful  daughter. 

"  Good  morning  Chawley,"  responded  Miss  Ritter  with 
vibratory  jaws.  "  I'll  bet  you  had  a  good  time  dancing  and 
flirting  with  those  pretty  French  girls  last  night,  didn't  you 
Chawley?"  •     ^ 

Cruel,  cruel  Emily !  You  surely  never  felt  the  first  throes 
of  an  ecstatic  love! 

"  I  suppose  you  address  me  as  Chawley  out  of  considera- 
tion of  the  cud  you're  by  nature  compelled  to  be  busy  with," 


i;'   I 
i!  i 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


277 


rudely  and  bitterly  suggested  Mr.  Ford,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  gave  Grade's  hand  a  reassuring  squeeze  beneath  the 
wolf  skin  lap  robe  which  caused  that  young  person  to  laugh 
outright  at  his  bovine  retort  upon  Emily's  impertinence. 

"  Now,  here,  you  two  stop  that,"  authoritatively  interposed 
Jack,  *'  you  seem  never  to  be  able  to  meet  without  quarrel- 
ing. I  suppose  it  would  be  impossible  for  you  both  to 
drive  uptown  in  this  sleigh  at  the  same  time?" 

"Quite  impossible,"  interpolated  Miss  Eitter. 

"Or,"  continued  Jack,  "we  might  aZ?  drive  up  together — 
though  it  would  perhaps  be  asking  too  much  of  poor  Bijou 
after  her  long  drive  this  morning." 

"Of  course  it  would,  poor  little  thing,"  exclaimed 
Charley,  as  with  a  final  squeeze  of  Gracie's  hand  beneath 
the  robe  he  got  out  of  the  sleigh,  "  I'd  prefer  to  walk,"  and 
the  steamer  having  reached  her  dock,  with  an  orthodox 
lifting  of  his  cap,  and  an  obeisance  specially  directed 
towards  the  glowing,  albeit  trembling  little  object  of  his  first 
genuine  love,  he  proceeded  to  take  his  departure. 

"  I  may  have  to  come  around  and  see  you  some  time  dur- 
ing the  day  if  I  can  get  away,  Charley,"  said  Jack. 

"  All  right  old  chap.  You'll  find  me  at  home  all  the 
afternoon,"  was  the  reply  as  he  walked  ashore  with  the 
other  foot  passengers  and  thence  up  the  street. 

Thus  it  was  that  Jack  and  Gracie  first  drove  Miss  Ritter 
home  and  then  themselves  proceeded  homewards  to  the 
Hathbone  mansion. 


If 


V  'i 


' 


'!t!lir 


mi 


m 


h-m 


CHAPTER  XVL 


A  Son  of  Erin. 

\  ND  SO  IT  came  to  pass,  as  hereinbefore  related,  that 
■^■^-  Mr.  Robert  Ratbbone,  after  a  night  and  morning  of 
marital  bull^ying  and  paternal  fuming,  betook  himself  to 
church  on  this  particular  Sabbath  morning,  after  an  absence 
therefrom  extending  over  several  moons. 

If  Jack,  instead  of  being  away  upon  the  reprehensible 
expedition  he  had  stolen  off  upon,  had  been  at  home  really 
ill  and  unable  to  attend  divine  service,  Mr.  Rathbone's 
comatose  sense  of  duty  to  God  and  society  would,  in  all 
probability,  have  remained  in  its  dormant  condition,  and 
the  luxuriously  upholstered  Rathbone  pew  at  St.  Pancras' 
would  siill  have  continued  to  know  him  not. 

But  the  bete  noir  of  his  domestic  contentment — not  to  say 
happiness  —  having  in  this,  his  latest  overt  act  of  disobe- 
dience, given  him  a  propitious  excuse  for  ridding  the  house- 
hold of  his  objectionable  presence,  he,  Mr.  Rathbone,  would 
mark  the  event  by  demonstrating  to  his  neighbors  that  he  was 
still  with  them  as  a  church-going  member  of  society,  and  to 
the  aforesaid  hete  noiVthat  he,  the  latter,  possessed  a  Christian 
man  for  an  outraged  father. 

When  Jack,  after  dropping  his  excited  little  sister  at  the 
front  entrance  of  the  mansion,  drove  Bijou  around  to  the 
stable  he  there  found  Micluiel,  the  groom-coachman  at  his 
post  of  duty. 

(279) 


I  i 


i 


w4 


280 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"Well,  Mnstlier  Jack,  Oi'm  right  playsed  to  say  yo  back 
agin  all  safe  an' sound,  sor,"  exclaimed  Micliael.  "01  was 
beginnin'  to  fare  that  somethiu'moighthave  gan  wrang  wid 
ye  an'  the  pony,  sor." 

"Oh,  no,  Mike,  we  are  all  right.  I  was  only  persuaded 
to  stay  over  at  Belle  River  last  night  much  against  my  own 
inclination." 

"  And  how  did  the  race  come  aff,  sor." 

•'Oh,   the   widow's  old   horse  Crapaud  was  beaten  all 

hollow  r 

"D'ye  tell  me  so,  sor?  Well,  thin,  ye  surprise  me  whin  ye 
tell  me  that,  sor,  beca.se  Oi  taught  thir  was  nary  u  thing . 
over  there  beyant  that  could  bate  th'  widday's  Crapod  on 
the  ice." 

"  Yes,  and  so  did  almost  everybody  else  at  the  race  yes- 
terday before  the  horses  started,  but  Peter  Bertrand's  little 
chestnut  is  too  much  for  him  any  day." 

"  Faith,  thin,  he  must  beagood  wan,  must  that  same  little 
chisnut,  sor." 

"Yes,  you  can  depend  upon  it,  he's  a  good  one,"  assented 
the  truant,  forgetting  for  the  moment  what  was  in  all  prob- 
ability in  store  for  him  when  he  entered  the  house. 

"  And  Mr.  Bertrand,  his  owner,  has  named  him  after  me," 
he  added  with  a  thrill  of  absurd  pride. 

"  Afther  yerself  is  it,  sor?" 

"Yes,  he'll  be  known  as  'Jack  Rathbone'  after  this, 
Mike." 

"  Well,  thin,  all  Oi  have  to  say  t'  that,  sor,  is  that  that 
same  chisnut  pony  could'n't  have  a  betther  or  more  gintle- 
manly  name,  sor,"  observed  this  redoubtable  votary  of  the 


•^  1 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


281 


blarney  stone  as  he  led  the  little  mare  out  of  the  shafts  of 
tlie  sleigli.  "For  that  ray.-on,"  ho  contiiiuod,  "Oi'in  right 
well  jdased  tokiiaw  that  tlic  laco  cam' ail  as  it  did,  sor — but 
sure  Oi'iii  tliinkin'  the  musther  was  in  great  ado  about  yer 
stayiii'  al'  iiiglit  away." 

"IIcJV  do  you  know  he  was,  Mike?" 

*'  Why,  didn't  he  cam*  in  here  to  the  stable  this  mornin*, 
an'  fwhin  he  found  the  pony  gan  lie  axed  me  fwidder  Oi 
knovved  fwhere  ye  had   >.  int  to,  Masther  John?  " 

"And  did  you  tell  hiM  A'heie  I'd  gone?" 

"  Sorra  bit  o'me  wonla  do  that,  so*-,  unless  Oi  was  moighty 
hard  peched,  sorl  >.»o,  no,  sor^  iwhin  the  master  axed  me 
fwhere  ye'd  gone  away  to.  Oi  towld  him  Oi'd  not  ba  loikcly 
to  know  fwhere  ye  had  gan  away  to  unless  ye'd  towld  me 
fwhere  ye  was  goin'  afore  yc  wint  away." 

"But  I  did  tell  you  where  I  waa  goir^  to  before  I  went 
away,  Mike,"  remonstrated  Jack. 

"  Av  coorse  Oi  know  ye  did,  sor;  but,  sure,  the  masther 
wint  away  aff  back  into  the  house  agin  widout  thinkiu'  to 
ax  me  fwidder  ye  had  or  no,  sor." 

"Well,  well,  Mike,"  exclaimed  the  truant,  laughing, 
"you're  not  an  Irishman  for  nothing!  That's  worth  a 
dollar,  and  here  it  is  for  you,  old  chap." 

"Thank  ye,  thank  ye,  yer  honor,"  responded  the  recipient 
of  the  large  silver  coin,  "ye  always  do  be  givin'  me  some- 
thing or  another." 

"Oh,  Jack!"  exclaimed  Gracie,  as  she  breathlessly 
rubhed  into  the  stable,  "what  do  you  think?  Papa  has 
gone  to  church  I " 


u 


1/ 


282 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"Gone  to  church,  has  he?  Then  I  hope  it'll  do  him 
good,"  he  said  bitterly.     "And  where  is  mother?" 

"  In  the  library,"  and,  lowering  her  voice  to  f»  whisper, 
*'  I  don't  think  she's  nearly  as  miserable  as  I  expected  to 
find  her." 

"  Well,  I  must  go  and  try  to  make  my  peace  with  her 
before  the  governor  returns.  Mike,  take  good  care  of 
Bijou,  because  she's  had  a  long  and  fast  drive  this 
morning." 

"Faith,  an'  ye  can  depind  upon  it,  Oi'll  do  that  same, 
sor,"  called  out  Michael  from  the  po-  y's  stall,  as  Jack  and 
bis  dainty  little  sister  left  the  stable  on  their  way  to  the 
house. 


BB 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


A  Devoted  Mother  and  a  Penitent  Son. 


;  t 


rrillERE  ARE  mothers  and  there  are  mothers  in  this 
-^      fleeting  vale  of  tears. 

There  are  good  mothers,  indifferent  mothers,  and  abso- 
lutely bad,  unnatural  mothers;  and  the  Topsj  theory  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding,  it  is  an  uncontrovertible  fact  that, 
in  view  of  the  existing  method  of  propagation  of  our 
species,  every  man  Jack  and  likewise  Jill  of  us,  must  have 
had  a  mother  of  some  sort 

It  is  also  the.duty  of  every  man  Jack,  and  likewise  Jill,- 
of  us  to  gratefully  love  our  mothers.  First,  because  they 
underwent  the  pangs  of  bearing  us,  and  secondly,  because 
an  ordinarily  well  regulated  mother  is  more  prone  to  be 
inspired  by  one  of  human  nature's  divinest  laws  to  more 
unselfishly  love  and  cherish  her  offspring  than  that  off- 
spring in  ever  likely  to  receive  at  the  hands  of  any  other 
woman  in  all  his  or  her  life  long. 

Yet  there  are  society  mothers  who  seemingly  sacrifice  the 
natural  promptings  of  this  "divinest  human  law  "  at  the 
shrine  of  tluir  real  or  fancied  social  obligations  and  treat 
their  children  as  disagreeable  incumbrances,  rather  than  as 
blessings  to  be  watched  over  and  tenderly  cared  for. 

Then  there  is  the  other  extreme  of  mother  —  the  middle 
class  drudge  mother  —  who  is  never  altogether  happy  unless 

(283) 


,1 

^!:il 

' 

■'ii 

■ 

;vi 

,' 

hl!l!! 

::i 


vl 


J 


284 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


she  be  sacrificing  herself  at  the  shrine  of  her  children,  and 
who  seldom  ever  thinks  or  'alks  upon  any  other  subject 

This  last  need  not  necesi^^rily  be  the  personification  of 
amiability.  She  may  be  the  veriest  shrew,  the  veriest  Joe 
Gargery's  wife  in  "Great  Expectation  "  (  who,  by  the  way,  if 
this  deponent  remenibers  rightly,  didn't  have  any  children 
at  all  saving  the  adopted  Pip ) ,  yet  she  may  be  none  the 
less  the  typical  drudge  mother. 

She  may  rule  her  offspring,  figuratively  speaking,  with 
a  rod  of  iron,  and  literally  with  much  of  that  purifying  and 
withal  torturous  commodity  known  to  certain  domestic  fire- 
sides and  homes  as  birch ;  howbeit  there  may  be  no  end  to 
her  devotion  and  Spartan  like  disposition  to  sacrifice  her 
health,  strength  and  peace  of  mind  for  the  good  of  her 
children. 

When,  however,  such  a  mother  possesses  an  average 
degree  of  every  day  patience  and  amiability  in  addition  to 
the  other  qualities  mentioned,  then  may  it  be  safe  to  assume 
that  such  an  one  shall  ultimately  be  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven. 

It  is  this  maternal  ideality  who  alone  lends  a  complexion 
of  justification  to  the  too  frequently  ill-timed  and  stupidly 
maudlin  sentimentality  one  is  often  made  to  listen  to  about 
*'  me  mawthaw  "  in  amateur  circles,  professional  concerts, 
and  kindred  entertainments. 

However  that  may  be,  to  get  back  to  the  thread  of  this 
rhapsodical  narrative,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  little  Mrs.  Robert 
Rathbone  with  her  cultivated  amiability  and  her  patient 
disposition  to   suffer   all   things   for   her   children,  and 


BORPEB  CANUCKa 


285 


M 


especially  her  only  son,  was  a  near  approach  to  an  ideal 
mother. 

When  she  heard  Jack's  footsteps  approaching  the  little 
library-sitting  room  in  which  she  was,  she  arose  to  meet  him 
at  the  door.  She  tried  to  look  sternly  serious  upon  him  for 
an  instant  as  he  entered  and  took  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed 
her  again  and  again. 

"  Oh,  mother  dear,"  said  the  truant  in  a  penitent  voice  as 
he  put  his  arm  around  her  neck  and  gazed  into  her  eyes. 
"I'm  so  sorry  that  I  should  have  caused  you  so  much 
uneasiness,  and  judging  from  how  pale  you  look,  unhap- 
piness  too.  I  suppose  as  usual  father  has  been  visiting  his 
wrath  upon  you  because  of  my  having  gone  away  as  I 
did?" 

All  traces  of  stern  seriousness  had  now  fled  from  the 
little  mother's  countenance  and  the  one  thing  uppermost  in 
her  mind  for  the  moment  was  that  this  was  in  all  probability 
the  last  time  in  all  their  lives  he  would  ever  have  a  chance 
of  offending  as  he  had.  The  death  knell  of  his  home  boy- 
hood had  sounded  and  he  was  about  to  go  forth  among 
strangers  to  be  cared  for  by  them  until  be  became  a  man 
with  other  ties  than  those  of  hers. 

Their  lives  were  about  to  be  separated  perhaps  for  good 
and  aye  1  Oh,  that  this  time  should  have  ever  come !  Why 
could  he  not  have  always  remained  her  chubby  faced,  curly 
headed,  bright-eyed  little  boy  darling  ?  I 

A  very  foolish  and  unreasoning  little  woman  was  this 
mother  of  Master  Jack  Rathbone. 

"  And  where  have  you  been  ?  "  she  asked  with  overflow- 
ing eyes. 


m  i 


mi 


lili 


AM 


'Im'I! 


'm 


M 


i:/..^ 


^f 


I'M 


286 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"I  was  up  at  Belle  River,  mother." 

"  At  a  horse  race,  I  suppose  ?  '* 

"  Yes,  at  a  horse  race." 

"  Well,  now,  Jack,  you  knew  very  well  that  your  father 
had  forbidden  your  going  to  those  sort  of  races  without  his 
express  permission." 

"Yes,  mother,  I  know  that,  and  I  alto  know  that  he'd 
forbid  my  doing  anything  he  thought  would  give  me 
pleasure." 

"No,  no,  he  wouldn't,  my  son  !  You  wrong  your  father 
when  you  say  so ! " 

*'  Nq.1  don't,  mother ;  I  know  that  he's  taken  the  greatest 
aversion  to  me,  and  that  the  sooner  I  get  out  of  tliis  house 
for  good,  the  better  for  all  concerned.  You  know  very 
well  that  if  it  hadn't  been  for  your  urging  me  not  to,  I 
should  have  gone  away  long  ago." 

"No,  Jack,"  she  said,  resuming  her  seat  before  the  fire- 
place, "  your  father  hasn't  taken  an  aversion  to  you,  at  all ; 
he  simply  thinks  that  you  have  been  wasting  valuable  time 
here  at  home,  and  lie  wants  you  to  go  to  some  boarding 
school  or  college  for  a  year  or  so  to  finish  your  education 
before  you  start  out  for  yourself  in  the  world."  She  was 
very  nearly  breaking  down  here. 

"  When  does  he  want  me  to  go,  mother  ?  " 

"  At  once  —  before  the  end  of  this  week." 

Poor,  fondly  foolish,  little  mother !  The  inflection  of  her 
voice  betrayed  how  near  she  was  to  bursting  into  tears. 

"And  which  college  does  he  want  me  to  go  to,  mother 
dear?  "  he  asked,  as  he  kuelt  beside  the  little  wom^in  and 


•'■-'i  I 


BORDER  CANU 


cks. 


287 


took  one  of  her  hands  lovingly  in  both  of  his,  while  he 
gazed  into  her  overflowing  eyes. 

"  He  leaves  that  entirely  to  you  to  choose,  my  son,"  she 
replied,  as  she  stroked  his  head  caressingly. 

"That's  remarkably  generous  of  him." 

"Oh,  yes,  dear,  your  father  has  always  been  very  gen- 
erous in  respect  of  your  education,  and  I  only  fear  that 
you've  not  taken  sufficient  advantage  of  it,"  she  said,  as  two 
large  tears   tole  down  her  drawn  cheeks. 

"Perhaps  I  haven't,  mother;  but  I  promise  you  here 
upon  my  knees  that  I  shall  take  proper  advantage  of  this 
opportunity  to  make  np  for  lost  time.  What  school  or 
college  would  you  prefer  that  I  should  go  to,  mother  dear?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  offer  any  suggestion  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. I  don't  think  I  have  any  right  to.  Your 
father  expressly  said  that  you  were  to  be  allowed  to  choose 
for  yourself."  . 

At  this  instant  Gracie,  bereft  of  her  cap  and  wraps,  came 
bounding  into  the  room. 

"  What  is  he  to  choose  for  himself,  mamma?  **  she  asked. 

""  A  college,  dear." 

"  Is  he  to  go  away  to  college  ?  "  demanded  the  sylphide 
with  a  grimace. 

"Yes,  dear,  for  a  year  or  so.  It  is  your  father's  very 
sensible  wish  that  he  should  before  he  starts  out  in  life  for 
himself." 

"  Well  then.  Jack,  I'll  tell  you  what  college  I  know  that 
Tnamma  would  prefer  that  you  should  go  to." 

"No,  you  mustn't  do  so,  Gracie,"  mildly  objected  Mrs. 


'iiiii 


!i 


W 

■Hli'i 


III 


'r     t 


■^■■v 

^ 


288 


BOlStDER  CANUCKS. 


Eathbone.  "Let  Jack  choose  for  himself;  it  is  your  father's 
Wish  that  he  should." 

But  the  sylphide,  going  to  her  brother,  still  in  his  kneel- 
ing posture,  and  encircling  his  neck  with  her  arms, 
whispered  in  his  ear. 

"Well,  then,  that's  the  college  I  shall  go  to!"  he  said, 
as  after  kissing  his  sister  he  arose  to  his  feet  and  embraced 
the  little  mater.  "I  can't  be  far  wrong  in  choosing  the 
college  the  dearest  mother  in  the  world  would  prefer  that  I 
should  go  to." 

"That's  the  college  Father  Van  was  educated  at,  you 
know,  Jack,"  exclaimed  Grace  excitedly,  "  and,  oh,  he  says 
it's  such  a  beautiful  place  with  such  lovely  grounds  about  it, 
and  the  teachers  are  so  kind  tc  the  scholars  I  I'm  sure  it 
must  be  a  very  good  school  to  have  educated  Father  Van  1" 

"  I've  no  doubt  it  is,"  replied  her  brother,  "  and  if  you'll 
go  with  me  this  afternoon,  little  one,  we'll  go  and  call  upon 
Father  Van  and  have  a  talk  with  him  about  it" 

"Of  course  I'll  go  with  you.  Jack,"  replied  Oracle 
excitedly,  "you'll  let  me,  won't  you  mama?" 

"  Yes,  dear,  I  don't  see  any  objection  to  your  going,"  said 
the  little  woman  with  a  thrill  of  consolation  growing  out  of 
that  Masonic-like  esprit  de  corps  peculiar  to  devout  members 
of.  her  ancient  denomination. 

Since  she  had  to  be  separated  from  her  idolized  boy  she 
was  convinced  that  he'd  be  carefully  looked  after  at  the 
institution  he  had  chosen  because  she  knew  a  good  deal 
about  its  methods  for  the  reason  that  two  of  her  brothers 
had  been  educated  there  in  the  days  gone  by. 


■^•'^, 


•       'i|i''u 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


289 


Thus  it  was  that  that  afternoon  Jack  and  Gracie  called 
upon  Father  Van  and  received  from  him  a  glowing  account 
of  the  beauties  of  the  situation  jast  outside  New  York  City 
and  the  advantages  of  the  curriculum  of  his  Alma  Mater. 


iwifj 


'Mil 


li 


!■( 


■'■lit 


■"V 


I  '■ 


'il! 


1/1 


.^ 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

7%e  Promised  Valedictory  Vtait. 

XT  WILL,  therefore,  now  be  understood,  after  this  long 
-*■  drawn-out  interpolation,  how  it  was  that  Jack  Rath- 
bone  came  to  refer  to  his  going  to  New  York  before  the 
close  of  the  current  week  in  conversation  with  Jacques 
Laforge  at  the  threshold  of  Rathboiie  &  Ritter's  establish- 
ment on  the  storm-threatened  morning  which  marks  the 
outset  of  these  desultory  pages. 

The  storm  had  spent  much  of  its  force  in  wind,  which 
had  veered  around  to  the  southeast,  accompanied  by  a  rise 
in  the  temperature  and  a  sort  of  rainy  snow,  which  clung  to 
each  object  it  fell  upon,  encrusting  each  tree  and  exposed 
shrub  for  miles  around  with  an  alabaster-like  coat  of 
ephemeral  beauty. 

So  that  when  the  sun  shone  forth  on  the  following  morn- 
ing in  all  his  refulgent  midwinter  glory  the  country-side 
along  the  frozen  river  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  pre- 
sented an  idealistic  scene  of  hyperborean  loveliness.  Even 
the  dead  and  burnished  rushes  of  the  vast  marsh,  which 
constituted  the  background  to  *'Mushrat"  farm  looking 
westward,  became  white,  coral-like  sprays  of  beauty  for  the 
time  being,  while  under  the  influence  of  old  Sol's  dazzling 
rays  the  leafless  trees  and  shrubbery  immediately  surround- 
ing the  quaint,  old  dormer-windowed  house  glittered  and 
glistened  in  short-lived,  brilliant  splendor. 

(291) 


lii 


'^['i 


|:i  i 


4 


..a 

11 

» 

/ 

p 

292 


BORDER  OANUOES. 


If  the  outside  of  the  Laforge  habitation  was  thus  radiant 
of  exceptional  winter  glory,  the  inside  thereof  was  pervaded 
by  a  mild  undercurrent  of  excitement  because  of  the 
anticipated  valedictory  visit  of  "Monsieur  Jack,"  which 
Mons.  Laforge  had  reported  on  his  arrival  home  from  the 
city  in  the  midst  of  the  storm  on  the  previous  evening. 

The  large  frame  kitchen-living  room  was  redolent  of  an 
atmosphere  of  cheery  warmth  and  savory  odors. 

One  half  of  this  apartment  —  that  nearest  the  prim  little 
parlor,  off  which  is  a  small  bedroom  designated  by  the 
inmates  of  the  household  as  "  la  chambre  de  Monsieur  Jack  " — 
was  covered  with  strips  of  homemade  carpet,  while  the  rear 
portion  occupied,  by  the  large  top-oven  stovt,  kitchen  table, 
and  tall,  red  dresser  with  a  liberal  display  of  blue  and  white 
delf  dishes  arranged  in  upright  show  thereon,  was  bare  floor 
of  immaculate  cleanliness. 

Between  the  two  windows  looking  to  the  eastward 
stood  a  tall,  old  fashioned,  lazily  ticking,  eight  day  clock, 
hung  up  on  one  side  of  which  was  a  florid  print  of  our 
Savior  and  on  the  other  an  equally  crude  picture  of  the 
blessed  Virgm  with  holy  infant  in  arms. 

Facing  these  on  the  opposite  wall,  over  the  old  fashioned 
flap-leaved  dining  table,  was  a  large  map-like  illustration  of 
Goorge  Washington  encircled  in  chronological  order  by 
vignettes  of  his  successors  down  to  General  Grant ;  and  over 
this,  next  the  raftered  ceiling,  was  a  conspicuous  black 
wooden  cross  and  white  crucifix.  At  the  window  nearest 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  room  stood  an  old-fashioned 
hand-loom  and  alongside  of  this  was  a  large  sized  spinning- 
wheel,  busy  at  which  was  Archange,  the  second  daughter  of 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


£93 


n 


the  family — a  lithe  figured,  straight  featured,  grey  eyed, 
brown  haired,  half  grown  girl. 

Near  to  the  window  opposite,  upon  a  high  backed,  rush 
bottomed  chair  sat  Marie,  who  though  the  elder  of  the  two 
was  much  the  smaller.  She  had  the  old  look  common  to 
victims  of  spinal  disorders,  and  an  angelic  expression,  the 
outcome  of  patient  suffering  and  cheerful  resignation  about 
her  charming  Madonna-like  face,  while  her  diminutive  hands 
and  fingers  moved  with  swift  mechanical  precision  in  the 
braiding  of  straw. 

Madame  Laforge,  a  stout,  good-natured  looking,  dark 
complexioncd,  middle  aged  woman  was  busy  stuffing  a 
turkey  at  the  kitchen  table,  while  her  two  youngest  born 
were  occupied  in  assaying  to  play  jack-stones  with  sheep 
knuckles  on  the  carpeted  portion  of  the  floor  in  imitation  of 
their  older  brothers  and  sisters  now  gone  to  the  French  log 
school  house  a  mile  and  more  away. 

Jacques  himself,  assisted  by  Francois,  his  bright-eyed, 
intelligent,  eldest  twelve  year  old  son  was  busy  fanning  out 
oats  in  the  log  barn  across  the  yard. 

"Mother,  do  you  think  that  Monsieur  Jack  will  come 
this  morning  or  will  he  wait  till  this  afternoon?"  asked 
Marie,  of  course  in  French. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  my  child.  He  may  not  come  at 
all  to-day.  Your  father  said  that  he  might  not  be  here  until 
to-morrow. 

"Oh,  I  think  he'll  be  here  to-day,"  replied  the  little 
invalid,  intent  upon  her  work.  "  Surely  he'll  take  advantage 
of  this  lovely  day  to  come  if  he  comes  at  all,"  and  then 
looking  out  of  the  window  she  exclaimed,  "  My,  how  lovely 


.11 

i  i! 
i!.' 

% 


:l   1 


ill! 


'i 


^J 


294 


BOUDEIl  CANUCKS. 


it  is  I  It  looks  like  a  great  white  shining  fairy  hmJ  out.side 
this  morning!" 

"I  feel  it  in  my  bones  that  MonHJour  Jack  will  come 
to-day,"  cried  Arcliange  as  she  gracefully  moved  back  and 
forth  at  the  spinning  wheel. 

"  Don't  you  feci  it  at  your  heart  too,  sistor  dear,"  quizzic- 
ally queried  Marie,  with  a  mischievous  smile,  turning  to 
glance  at  her  sister. 

"  Well,  I  could'nt  say  for  that,"  good-naturedly  replied 
Archange  with  a  shrug  of  her  pretty  shoulders,  "but  I've 
made  a  fire  in  the  front  room  so  as  to  give  him  a  warm 
reception  in  case  he  should,  come." 

"But  you  know,  my  dear,"  observed  Madame  Laforge 
as  she  placed  the  now  stuffed  turkey  in  a  dripping  pan, 
"  Monsieur  Jack  never  cares  to  sit  in  the  front  room.  He 
always  prefers  being  out  here  in  the  kitchen  because  he  says 
it's  so  much  more  comfortable." 

"And  so  I'm  sure  it  must  be,"  assented  Marie,  "but  then 
you  know,  mother  dear,  seeing  that  he's  Archange's  beau, 
she  may  very  naturally  want  to  have  some  little  private  talk 
of  her  own  with  him  in  the  front  room  before  he  says  good- 
bye to  the  rest  of  us  out  here.  I'm  sure  I  should  if  he  were 
my  beau." 

"  And  I'm  sure  he's  as  much  your  bean  as  he  is  mine," 
cried  the  girl  at  tliespijining  wheel.  "In  f;ict,  lie  always  talks 
to  you  more  and  pays  you  more  attention  than  liedoes  me." 

"Well,  it's  very  nice  of  you  to  say  that  he's  as  much  my 
beau  as  he  is  yours,  sister  mine — very  nice  and  very  gen- 
erous of  you,  dear,"  she  said  with  confirmatory  nods  of  her 
head,  the  while  playfully  smiling  down  upon  her  rapidly 


m 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


295 


lengmening  hraul ;  "liut  I  don't  think  I  slioukl.cnrc  to  go 
into  partnership  with  you  in  tlio  possession  of  Monsieur 
Jack  as  a  beau.  I  shouUl  be  too  jealous  of  v<i'i  about  my 
half  of  liim.  No,  I'll  only  have  to  wait  until  my  own 
beautiful  prince  comes  from  behind  the  silver  clouds  in  a 
golden  chariot  drawn  by  snow  white  horses  to  euro  my 
back  and  dress  me  up  in  the  purple  and  fine  linen  the  cure 
talks  about.  And  hoMl  make,  Oh,  such  a  beautiful  lady  of 
mo  that  he  won't  be  able  to  help  asking  me  to  marry  him  ! 
and  he'll  be  such  a  beautiful  prince  that  I  won't  be  able  to  say 
no!  And  then  we'll  be  married  by  tlie  bishop  or,  perhaps, 
the  pope  himself  in  the  presence  of  ever  so  many  other 
beautiful  princes  and  princesses,  and  I'll  be  the  envy  of  all 
the  girls  for  miles  around! ''  and  the  frail  little  figure  shook 
with  a  merry  chuckle  over  her  own  pleasantry. 

""Won't  you  have  any  one  but  princes  and  princesses  at 
your  weddmg?"  asked  Archange,  as  she  moved  back  and 
forth. 

"Oh,  no!"  she  replied,  shaking  her  head  without  looking 
up,  "  that  would  never  do,  jou  know !  " 

"I  suppose  your  beautiful  prince  won't  let  you  invite 
any  of  us  to  come,  will  he?  "  asked  Archange  seriously. 

"Oh,  yes,  he  will !  You  see  I'll  first  get  him  to  make 
father  a  king,  and  then,  of  course,  you  know,  you  children 
will  all  be  princes  and  princesses,  because  you'll  all  be  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  a  king,  you  know.  And  mother  will 
be  a  queen  with  a  lovely  crown  of  gold  and  diamonds  on 
her  head,  and  her  dress  will  be  all  beautiful  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and — " 

"And  what  will  be  your  dress?  "  interrupted  her  sister. 


Hi 


... 


i   /■ 


296 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


"  Purple  and  fine  linen  too,  of  course,"  with  a  confirma- 
tory nod  of  the  head. 

"  I  should  think  you'd  rather  wear  white  satin  at  your 
own  wedding." 

"Oh,  no,  I  couldn't  think  of  it ! "  she  said  with  affected 
solemnity,  gazing  down  upon  her  work ;  "  only  common, 
every-day  brides  wear  white  satin.  Princesses  are  always 
married  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  you  know." 

"  I  do  believe  that's  Monsieur  Jack's  grey  pony  coming 
down  the  road  now  1 "  exclaimed  Madame  Laforge,  looking 
out  of  the  window. 

"  Let  me  see  I  "  cried  Archange,  stopping  her  wheel  and 
rushing  to  the  window.  "  Yes,  that's  he,"  she  said  con- 
fidently. 

*'  Are  you  sure  ?  "  asked  the  mother. 

"Yes,  I'm  sure." 

"  Then  I'm  glad  I've  got  the  turkey  ready  to  put  in  the 
oven,"  and  this  the  good  woman  proceeded  to  do  without 
further  parley. 

"Yes,  and  he's  got  a  lady  with  him,"  continued 
Archange,  "  I  wonder  who  it  can  be  ?" 

"Why,  who  could  it  be  but  Madamoiselle  Grace?" 
demanded  Madame  Laforge,  fussily  putting  more  wood  in 
the  stove. 

"  I  hope  it  is  1"  cried  Marie,  with  difficulty  getting  out  of 
her  tall  backed  chair  and  shambling  over  nearer  to  the 
window  to  gaze  out  in'  the  direction  of  the  approaching 
visitors,  "  I'll  be  so  glad  to  see  her  bright  pretty  face  again  I 
It's  more  than  three  months  since  she  was  here  last." 


:  i; 

•   i; 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


297 


Gracie  Rathbone  bad  often  accompanied  Jack  when  the 
weather  was  fine  in  the  summer  and  autumn  months  down 
to  "Mushrat  Farm  "  during  the  last  two  or  three  years. 

In  this  way  slie  had  gotten  to  know  the  family  well  and 
to  like  talking  to  the  crippled  eldest  daughter,  and  to  romp 
with  the  other  Laforge  children  while  Jack  enjoyed  a  few 
hours'  shooting  over  the  marshes. 

Archange  had  become  quite  proficient  in  English  and 
spoke  it  very  well,  although,  of  course,  with  a  very  marked 
but  withal  pretty  accent,  while  Marie,  owing  to  her  constant 
confinement  to  il^e  house,  heard  it  spoken  but  com- 
paratively se.'dom  and  was  therefore  shy  about  attempting 
to  speak  it. 

Gracie  Rathbone,  on  the  other  hand,  was  equally  loath  lo 
talk  French,  notwithstanding  that  she  understood  it 
tolerably  well  when  she  heard  it  spoken. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  dainty  sylphide  and  her  little  crippled 
admirer  carried  on  their  sometimes  lengthened  conversations 
— the  one  speaking  English  and  the  other  French. 
•  Mrs.  Laforge  herself  always  talked  in  her  own  native 
patois  to  both  Jack  and  Gracie,  while  her  husband  employed 
his  quaint  English  dialect  as  a  means  of  communication 
with  any  and  every  one  on  the  slightest  provocation.  He 
was  rather  proud  of  his  linguistic  accompl^hment  in  this 
regard. 

Ilence  it  was,  that  when  the  two  distinguished  and  wel- 
come guests  had  duly  arrived  and  all  were  assembled  in  the 
comfortable  kitchen,  the  concord  of  sounds  and  intonations 
of  voices  seemed  for  the  nonce  to  satisfactorily  dispose  of 
the  Canadian  dual  language  question. 


IM. 


i'l       5 


;! 
,i 

it 


298 


BORDEK  CANUCKS. 


"I'm  SO  glad  to  see  you  again,  Madamoiselle,"  said  Marie 
simply  in  French,  after  the  sylphide  had  kissed  her  demon- 
stratively, as  she  sat  in  her  high-backed  chair;  "it  seems 
such  a  long  tiine  since  you  were  here  last." 

"  Let  me  see  —  I  was  here  in  September  last,  was  I  not, 
Marie?" 

"  Yes,  you  were  here  on  the  21st  of  September." 

"  More  than  four  months  ago,  isn't  it?  Why,  goodness ! 
I  didn't  think  it  was  as  long  ago  as  that  I  Time  flies, 
doesn't  it?  You're  looking  very  well,  Marie,  but  your 
father  told  Jack  yesterday  that  you  v  -e  threatened  with  a 
very  serious  illness  not  long  ago." 

*'  Oh,  no,  I  was  not  so  bad  as  poor  father  fancied  I  was. 
You  see,  he  frets  so  about  me  when  I've  the  slightest  thing 
the  matter  with  me,  that  I'm  always  made  out  worse  than  I 
really  am,"  and  the  Madonna-like  face  assumed  a  playfully 
cheerful  smile  as  she  bended  over  for  a  fresh  supply  of 
straw,  a  bright,  clean  bundle  of  which  lay  upon  the  floor 
beside  her  chair.  "We  had  just  been  talking  about 
princesses,"  she  continued,  "  when  we  first  saw  you  coming 
in  the  distance,  and  I'm  sure  neither  Archange  nor  I  ever 
fancied  we  should  see  one  so  soon,  because,  you  know,"  she 
said  confidentialy,  as  she  straightened  herself  up  after  having 
secured  the  straw,  "'  in  that  beautiful  fur  jacket  and  cap  and 
that  pretty  dark-green  dress,  you  are  jnst  what  I  think 
princesses  must  look  like." 

"Now,  now,  Marie,"  replied  Grace,  playfully  shaking  a 
a  finger  at  her,  "you  know  I  don't  like  to  be  flattered  or 
made  fun  of,  either." 

"Oh,   no  I   I  never  flatter  or  make    fun  of   my  dear 


1 1 


BORDEH  CANUCKS. 


299 


princesses,"  remonstrated  the  little  invalid,  with  serio-comic 
countenance",  "although  I  sometimes  feel  it  my  duty  to 
tell  them  how  beautiful  they  are." 

At  this  juncture  Jack,  accompanied  by  Mons.  Laforge 
and  his  son  and  heir,  Francois,  came  in  from  the  stable, 
whither  they  had  been  to  put  Bijou  up  for  the  two  or  three 
hours  the  visitors  were  to  remain, 

Jacques  was  dressed  in  a  homemade,  blue-grey  flannel 
blouse  and  a  light  brownish  pair  of  trousers,  the  boUonis  of 
which  blended  into  cloth-topped  shoepacs,  tied  around  wiih 
babeech  strings. 

"Aw,  Mademoiselle!"  he  exclaimed,  taking  off  the  red 
tuque  he  habitually  wore  at  home  as  he  went  to  shake 
Gracie  by  the  hand  for  the  second  time  since  her  cotnirig, 
'  Ah'U  toll  you,  we  wus  glad  for  see  you  on  dees  house 
agin!" 

"  Not  more  so  than  I  am  to  see  you  all  again,  I'm  sure, 
Mr.  Laforge,"  replied  the  little  city  lady  earnestly. 

"Dat  wus  long  tam  you  wus  not  here  before,"  he  said 
politely.  "Marie  wus  say  de  udder  day  dat  she's  fraid  she's 
not  goan  see  you  no  more." 

"Oh,  there  is  no  fear  of  that;  I'll  always  come  and  see 
Marie  whenever  I  can.  But  now  that  Jack's  going  away," 
she  added  sadly,  "  I'm  afraid  I'll  not  have  as  many  chances 
to  come  as  I  had  last  summer." 

"Bot  yo  bruddeur  was  goan  come  back  agin  sumtam  or 
uddeur,  Ah  suepose.  Mademoiselle,"  remonstrated  Jacques. 
"  Ah  guess  he's  not  goan  lac  dat  collage  so  mouch  he's 
nevaire  goan  cum  back  home  no  more." 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said  laughing,  "  I  don't  suppose  he'll  like 


I !; 
,i  li 


!1 


I     !; 


800 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


it  SO  much  as  all  that.  He'll  be  back  some  time  in  July  for 
his  holidays,  I  suppose  —  about  five  months  from  now." 

"  Aw,  well,  dat  wus  goan  soon  sleep  roun,  and  you  wus 
goan  come  an  see  us  den.  Mais,  Mademoiselle,  you  wus 
goan  stop  an  have  sum  deeneur  wit  us.  You  muss  took  off 
yo  cap  an  yo  houtside  coat. " 

"  Aw^  oui^pour  le  sure!  "  chorused  Marie  and  her  mother. 

*' Archange,  ma  chere  I "  cried  Jacques,  addressing  his  sec- 
ond-born, who  stood  watching  and  talking  to  Jack  as  he 
stood  at  the  table  on  the  other  side  of  the  room  emptying  a 
traveling  bag  of  its  contents. 

^^  Comment,  mon  peref'  she  asked,  facing  around,  her 
bright  grey  eyes  dancing  with  excitement. 

"  Took  Mademoiselle  on  de  udder  room  so's  she's  goan 
took  hoff  hees  cap  an  hovairecoat." 

"  Certainement,  mon  pere,'^  replied  Archange  with  alaCrity, 
going  to  Grace."  Come  wit  me,  mamselle  Grace,"  she 
said,  taking  the  sylphide  by  the  hand. 

**  Mon  Dieu,  Mademoiselle  Ratbone  !  "  exclaimed  Jacques, 
as  a  connoisseur  of  peltries,  no  longer  able  to  suppress  his 
admiration  of  the  beautiful  seal  fur,  "dat  was  beutafful 
skeen  you  wus  got  on  yo  back !  Dare  wus  no  mushratbout 
dat,  fur  sure  !  " 

"No,  Mr.  Laforge,  it's  sealskin,"  explained  the  sylph. 
"  Papa's  present  to  me  at  Christmas,"  she  added  as  she  went 
off  with  Archans^e  to  the  front  room. 

Meanwhile  Jack  brought  delight  to  the  brown  eyed  little 
five  year  old  girl,  who  stood  upon  a  chair  beside  him,  by 
giving  her  a  flaxen-haired  doll  with  expressive  blue  eyes, 
which  opened  and  shut  on  occasion,  and  who  possessed  the 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


301 


further  unusual  feminine  accomplishment  of  squeaking 
when  she  was  squeezed. 

The  youngest  of  the  family,  whom  Jack  had  previously 
christened  "Buster,"  a  brawny  gentleman  of  four  summers 
with  bucolic  predilictions,  being  seated  on  the  table  along- 
side the  Sunta  Claus  grip  sack,  was  made  to  understand 
that  he  had  suddenly  become  a  large  landed  proprietor  with 
vast  herds  of  kine,  the  mere  creatures  of  his  will,  by  the 
presentation  of  a  toy  barnyard. 

"Monsieur  Jack,  you  wus  goan  spile  dem  chile,"  sug- 
gested Jacques,  as  he  and  his  wife  and  Marie  gazed  upon 
the  delighted  children. 

"Oh,  no,  Santa  Claus  never  spoils  his  children,"  was  the 
reply,  as  he  handed  a  pair  of  skates  to  Francois,  the  eldest 
boy,  "You  know  Santa  Claus  sent  you  these  skates, 
Frank,"  continued  Jack,  "  and  he  told  me  to  tell  you  he's 
sorry  he  was  so  late  in  getting  around  this  year.  He'll  try 
to  be  on  time  next  Christmas." 

To  which  Master  Francois,  looking  up  from  his  treasures 
with  radiantly  incredulous  countenance,  replied:  "Aw, 
yas.  Monsieur  Jack,  Ah  knows  who's  dat  Santa  Claw  wus ! 
Dat  wus  you,  dat's  who's  he  wus,  an  Ah  tank  you  verrah 
much.  Monsieur.  Dey  wus  jews  de  ting  what  Ah  wus 
want,"  and  he  went  over  to  the  far  window  to  more  closely 
inspect  his  prize. 

The  Santa  Claus  grip-sack  proved  to  contain  something 
appropriate  for  every  one,  and  every  one  was  made  happy 
and  hilarious;  and  when,  in  due  course,  the  table  was  laid 
and  the  turkey,  done  to  a  proper  brown,  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  table  for  Jacques  to  stand  up  and  carve,  never  did  a 


'      I 


i      II 


.  I 


302 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


jollier  party  partake  of  a  tardy  New  Year's  dinner  in  all  the 
country  'round. 

Buster'seemed  the  only  one  present  for  the  time  being 
at  all  concerned  about  the  future  and  its  prospective  cares 
and  responsibilities.  He  felt  it  his  duty  several  times  to 
get  down  off  his  high  chair  and  go  over  to  where  he  had 
left  his  cattle  grazing  upon  the  carpet.  First  he  was  afraid 
they  might  get  out  of  their  pasture  and  wander  off  and  be 
lost  in  the  marshes ;  and  then  it  struck  him  that  rag  carpet 
might  perhaps  be  a  poor  substitute  for  grass,  and  he 
demanded  to  know,  in  lisping  patois,  whether  cows  ever  eat 
turkey. "  If  so,  he'd  save  some  of  his  for  his  pretty  cows. 

Marie  suggested  that,  although  they  were  not  partial  to 
turkey,  she  knew  they  were  very  fond  of  straw,  and  that  he 
might  have  some  of  hers  to  feed  them  with. 

Happy  thought  I  Straightway  each  animal  had  a  clean, 
bright  straw  laid  before  him  for  his  dinner,  and  Buster's 
mind  was  made  sufficiently  easy  to  enable  him  to  return  to 
his  chair  at  the  table  along-side  his  mother  and  renew  his 
attack  upon  the  turkey. 

Jack  Rathbone  looked  forward  to  his  going  to  college  for 
a  couple  of  years  with  pleasurable  satisfaction,  and  Grace's 
regret  that  he  v)as  to  go,  found  solace  in  the  fact  that  it  had 
been  arranged  that  she  and  her  mother  were  to  accompany 
him  to  New  York,  and  thence  to  the  college  to  see  that  he 
was  made  properly  comfortable. 

The  sylphide  did  not  altogether  despair  of  seeing  Charley 
Ford  occasionally  during  Jack's  absence. 

She  was  never  held  a  prisoner  at  home,  and  although  it 
was  not  at  all  likely  that  Charley  would  be  permitted  to 


^aem 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


303 


lad 

my 

he 


|ley 

it 
to 


come  to  the  house  to  see  her,  she  had  to  go  back  and  forth 
to  the  convent  each  day,  and  she  didn't  see  why  he  couldn't 
happen  to  meet  her  on  the  street  sometimes.  If  she  could 
only  get  Marie  alone  for  a  little  while  she  thought  she'd 
like  to  tell  her  that  she  was  as  good  as  engaged  to  Charley 
Ford,  because  she  knew  that  Marie  would  sympathize  with 
her  and  keep  her  secret.  She  certainly  would  tell  her  all 
about  it  when  she  came  down  to  the  farm  with  Jack  during 
his  next  summer  vacation. 

And  now  the  dinner  being  over.  Jack  had  some  talk  with 
Monsieur  Laforge  about  his  duck  skiff  and  decoys  which 
were  stored  away  in  the  Mushrat  farm  barn. 

"At  first  I  thought  I'd  get  you  to  sell  them  for  me, 
Jock,"  he  said,  "but  I've  changed  my  mind.  I  don't  sup- 
pose they'd  bring  much,  and  I  may  find  use  for  them  when 
I  come  back." 

"  Aw,  yas,  ov  coorse.  As  Ah  wus  toll  you  yesteurday, 
dey  could  stop  where's  dey  wus  on  de  barn  teel  you  wants 
dem.  Suepose  you  does  go  on  collage  for  two  tree  year,  Ah 
guess  you  wus  goan  come  back  sumtam,  ay  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I'll  be  home  for  two  months  during  the 
summer." 

"  An  Ah  hopes,"  continued  Jacques,  "  dat  you  wus  not 
goan  got  yo  head  feel  hup  with  sich  beeg  larnin  dat  you 
wus  goan  geeve  up  to  shoot  sumtam  when  we's  got  plantay 
dock  on  de  mash." 

"Oh,  no,  I  don't  think  there's  much  danger  of  that," 
said  young  Kathbone,  laughing. 

"Sumtam,  you  know,"  continued  Jacques  oracularly, 
"too  mouch  larnin  spiles  fokes  so  dey  wus  do  nutting  cep 


*r' 


304 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


go  'round  an  tink  how  much  dey  knows  more  dan  udder 
fokes.     Look  mah  ole  fren  Antoine  BoisversI    He  have 
peench  heemsef  fur  geeve  hees  son  good  eddication.     He 
have  sent  heem  to  fuss  class  collage  down  on  Kebec,  an 
now  what  wus  de  raysulte  of  dat  ?     "What  he's  do  wit  all 
dat  larnin  ?    Ah'U  goan  toll  yo  what  he's  do  wit  dat !    He's 
feel  hees  head  hup  wit  so  mouch  eddication  dat  he  have  no 
more  room  on  do  top  ov  eet  fur  respec  for  hees  faddeur  an 
hees  muddeur,  an  he  wus  shame  ov  eet ! " 
*'  Ashamed  of  his  own  father  and  mother?  " 
"  Yas,  sair,  he  wus,  sure's  mah  nam  wus  Jock  Laforge  I  ** 
"Well,  that's  too  bad  I     It's  a  case  of  «  little  learning 
being  a  dangerous  thing,  isn't  it  ?  '' 

"  Aw,  yas,  fur  sure,  eet  ees  dangeureuse  ting  fur  know  too 
moucht"  assented  the  owner  of  "Mushrat  farm."  "Ah 
hope.  Monsieur  Jack,  you  nevaire  wus  goan  larn  so  mouch 
where's  you  wus  go  on  dat  collage  dat  you  wus  goan  forgot 
us  po  fokes  on  de  Riviere  Canard  mash." 

"  Forget  you,  Jock,  or  any  of  the  family !  "  exclaimed 
the  youth  impulsively,  getting  up  and  going  over  to  shake 
his  habitant  hunter  friend  by  the  hand.  "  Why,  my  dear 
sir,  some  of  the  happiest  hours  of  my  life  have  been  passed 
with  you  and  your  family  right  here  in  this  house ;  and  so 
long  as  I  live  I  shall  never  forget  any  of  you  or  ever 
cease  to  thank  you  for  all  the  kindness  you  have  shown 


me 


>» 


"Oh,  go  long  wit  you.  Monsieur  Jack!  Eet  wus  you 
dat  have  be  kine  to  us !  " 

"  Not  to  the  extent  you  have  been  to  me,  old  friend," 
replied  Jack ;  "  but  now  we  must  be  off,  or  it'll  be  dark 


BORDER  CANUCKS. 


305 


before  we  get  back  to  the  city,  and  mother  will  be  worrying 
about  us.  Gracie,  get  your  things  on,  and  Mr.  Laforge  and 
I  will  go  out  and  put  the  pony  in  the  sleigh." 

"  No,  no,  Ah  could  do  dat  meseE  You  stay  where's 
you  wus,  Monsieur  Jack." 

But  this  Jack  wouldn't  hear  of,  and  both  went  out  to  the 
stable  together 

Thus,  without  further  ado,  amidst  the  tender  adieus 
which  followed  Bijou  and  the  sleigh  being  brought  to  the 
door  for  the  start  homewards,  will  this  humble  scribe,  with 
a  profoundly  respectful  obeisance,  set  aside  his  stubby  pencil 
and  lower  the  curtain  on  "  Border  Canucks :  Our  friendly 
relations." 


•| 


THE  EXD. 


A  FAULTLESS  FIT  GUARANTEED 

BY  OUR   NEW  YORK  CITY  CUTTER, 

MR   y.  G.  CAMPBELL, 

5flJ.  H.  Plummep  fit  Go. 

IMPORTERS  OF 

ENGLISH  AND  SCOTCH  DRY  GOODS, 

8AULT  8TE.  MARIE,  ONTARIO. 

BARTLETT  &  MA6D0NALD, 

DIRECT  IMPORTERS  OF  ALL  KINDS  OP 

FANCY  AND  STAPLE  DRESS  FABRICS 

Sandwich  Street,  WINDSOR,  ONTARIO 

(opposite  DETROIT.) 

Vh^  3^ruTibell  l]|oii6c. 


E.  RUNDELL,  MANAQER. 
SAULX    SXE.    MARIE, 


MICHIQAN.     ^ 


A  delightful  hotel,  lighted  by  eleotrioity,  and  having 
all  other  modern  improvements. 

Overlooking    the    Rapids,    Government    Park    and    Ship    Canal. 

$2.00  PER  DAY. 

ELLIOTT,  GARLAND  &  CO. 

8AULT  8TE.  MARIE,  ONT. 

MERCHANT    TAILORS, 

DEALERS  IN 

SUPERIOR  KINDS  OF  GENTS'  FURNISHINGS,  &c. 

Gtnts'  all  wool  garment*  made  to  order  ao  per  cent. 

cheaper  than  on  the  American  elde.  .-^ 


H 


O 
PR 


J.  O.   PKCK, 

ICE  Ready  Made  Clothier. 

Gent'^  First-Class  Furnishings. 

Hats,  Gaps,  Etc. 


The  most  complete  establishment  of  the  kind 
in  Western  Ontario. 


SANDWICH  STREET,  WINDSOR,  (Opposite  Detroit  City.) 


xliehigan  Exchange 

Sault  Ste.  Mariet  Mich. 


A  First-class  Hotel,  charmingly  situated  within 

stone's  throw  of  the  rapids  and  the 

great  ship  canal. 

RATES,  $2.00  AND  $3.00  PER  DAY. 


^"RANK    ATWOOE),    Manager. 


V*J 


